His Own Hell
by criminalxxxmindsxxxfreak
Summary: Sequel to "Meet the Family" Reid's father comes looking to make amends, but how will he react to Reid's relationship with Morgan? And how will Reid keep one of his biggest secrets from the man he loves? Morgan/Reid SLASH; mild violence. 4th in M/R series!
1. Spencer, I said I was Sorry

**A/N: Woohoo! Sequel! YAY! Thanks so much for all of the wonderful reviews for "Meet the Family" guys! I hope you enjoy this one too!**

**This is… Part four in my Morgan/Reid series… the first part being "Even a Small Degree of Hope" the 2****nd**** "Across the Sky in Stars" and the 3****rd**** "Meet the Family" If you guys want the list in order, it's on my profile page, just scroll down and look for it.**

**This one will be more angsty than the previous stories, just to let you know, and yes, Reid's father will be intrinsical to the plot… I'm giving you fair warning: he does not come out smelling like a rose, guys. I hate Reid's dad and it shows…**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; maybe some language; some mild/moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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"_Everyone who has ever built anywhere a "new heaven" first found the power thereto in his own hell."  
_- **Friedrich Nietzsche **

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Ch. 1: Spencer, I Said I Was Sorry

"Spencer, it was just a question!" Morgan argued, his eyes blazing angrily. It had been three months since he and Reid had gotten together and they'd avoided any sort of real argument in that time. He supposed it was bound to happen eventually…

"How could you possibly think that, Derek?" Reid almost shouted, looking hurt. "You know I wouldn't do that!"

"Well then tell me what's going on. You've been acting very secretive lately, Spencer. I just want to know that you're ok."

Reid scowled, "So secretive automatically means I'm using drugs?" He half growled. "Derek, you might be my boyfriend but I am entitled to some privacy!"

"I didn't say that you weren't, I just worry about you -"

"Well don't!" Reid snapped. "I'm fine. Incase you're not aware of this, I happen to be an adult. I can make my own decisions without any input from you."

"Spencer!" Morgan clenched his fist, biting down hard on his lip. "I never said that you couldn't. I was just worried about you. You've been acting weird for a couple of weeks and I just -"

"Just what? Assumed that because I had a problem before, I'd be stupid enough to do it again?" Reid interrupted. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, Spencer! I just want to -"

"Obviously not." Reid snapped, on the verge of tears now. He hated arguing with people. Especially with Morgan, but … to have his addiction thrown back in his face like that hurt more than he was willing to admit. "If you trusted me you wouldn't have accused me of doing drugs again!"

"I didn't!" Morgan insisted. "I just asked if -"

"You asked if I had been using. You might as well have accused me of it."

"Well how else would I know if you didn't tell me?" Morgan demanded. "You haven't been telling me much of anything lately. What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on, Derek." Reid snapped. "I'm not keeping things from you and I'm certainly not using again. You want me to be tested to prove it?"

Morgan sighed, "No, Spencer, I just want to know what's wrong -"

"I keep telling you that nothing is wrong!" Reid snapped. "I'm fine. You're the one who seems to have the problem, assuming that there's something wrong because I spent a few nights at home. News flash, Derek, I have a life apart from you!"

"I never said you didn't!" Morgan protested. "I -"

"I trust you," Reid continued, glaring at him, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. "Why can't you trust me?"

"Spencer!" Morgan ran after the younger man as he flung open the apartment door and walked briskly to his car. "Spencer, wait!"

"Just leave me alone!" Reid snapped when Morgan caught his arm at the car. "I don't want to talk to you right now, Derek."

"Spencer -"

"I said leave me alone, Derek." Reid snapped.

Morgan sighed and let his hand drop from Reid's arm. "Fine… I'll call you later."

"Don't bother." Reid muttered, climbing into the car and driving away. Morgan stood there for a few minutes, watching until the rickety old VW was out of his sight, then he turned and walked back to his apartment angrily. He wasn't sure if he was more angry at himself or at Reid…

He felt like a terrible person for bringing up drugs again, but Reid had been acting weird for a about a week and a half now and he was starting to get worried. He didn't know what to think and he'd talked to Garcia about it, but she didn't know and Prentiss didn't know either. No one else at the office knew about their relationship so he wasn't sure where else to turn…

He sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Damn it." he muttered to himself. He was an ass…

He opened his eyes and they fell on a framed picture of him and Reid that had been taken a month earlier at his mother's house on Christmas day, after they'd opened their presents. The frame had been a gift from his mother, the words "Together Forever" etched around the sides with smaller words reading "Live, love, laugh" intermixed.

Reid looked so happy, holding his collectors' edition of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy set… and he glanced down at the watch around his wrist… Reid had gotten it engraved with their initials and the words "I love you" were underneath it in twisting cursive. He sighed again and shook his head. He hoped he hadn't messed things up too terribly this time. Maybe Reid would forgive him… Eventually…

**~/.\~**

Reid slammed the door to his apartment and threw his bag down on the floor, not even bothering to put it in the closet where he usually left it. He could feel angry tears burning his eyes and tried to tell himself it was because he was mad at Morgan, but that wasn't true. He was mad at himself for lying to him.

He hadn't been using, of course, and it had hurt when Morgan asked him if he had been… but that wasn't the problem. The problem was him. He had been acting different. Ever since he'd gotten the phone call from his father almost two weeks ago…

"_Hello?"_

"_Spencer, hey… It's… it's your father."_

"_Dad? What do you want?"_

"_I… I want to see you, Spencer. It's been a long time and … I've got some things to make up for." William paused, "I want to apologize. Can I come see you?"_

"_Why can't you just apologize on the phone?" Reid wasn't all too eager to see his father again._

"_Son, I'm serious. I… I know I screwed up, but I'd like a second chance. Can't you give me that much? Please?"_

_Reid closed his eyes and thought about Morgan, about the one secret he still hadn't shared with the man… If his father came, he would surely find out the truth. "I … Dad I'm busy."_

"_Just for a few days, Spencer." William insisted. "I want to get to know you."_

"_So talk to Mom. She knows me." Reid hadn't really meant to sound so angry, and he instantly regretted that. His mother shouldn't have to deal with William's pestering either…_

"_Son, please." William said, "I won't stay long. I'll even stay at a hotel if you don't want me at your apartment I just… I want another chance to do what's right."_

_Reid almost snorted. His father never did what was right… "What brought this on?" he asked._

"_A father can't just want to be closer to his son?"_

"_You can't."_

_William sighed heavily, "Alright… there's an annual Father-Son camping expedition at the firm and… it was yesterday. I saw all of the other father's with their kids and … I just wished I had gotten to do that with you."_

"_I wouldn't have wanted to."_

"_Spencer, I … I know I was… pushy sometimes when you were a kid, but I only did it because -"_

"_Because you loved me?" Reid snapped. "Pushy isn't the word I'd use either."_

"_Spencer," His father sounded angry then. He took a deep breath and sighed, "Look, I really want to … to attempt to make up for all the pain I put you through. Please, son."_

_Reid closed his eyes, "Fine. You can stay for a few days."_

"_Great… I've got a few days off the week after next. I'll call you then, Spencer."_

"_Yeah, great…" Reid muttered, already wishing he hadn't agreed to let him come…_

Why hadn't he just told Morgan that his father was coming? Why hadn't he just told his father no? He didn't want to see the man. Not ever again. He sighed and looked down at the coffee table, a card sitting there on top of it. Morgan had given it to him a few weeks ago for their three month anniversary. He sighed, feeling guilty again.

Maybe if he told him now, it would still be alright. He picked up his cell phone and started to call him when he realized he had a voice mail. Biting his lip, he listened as his father's voice started talking through the speakers.

"_Spencer, it's your father. It's about 10 in the morning. I tried to call you at home but you didn't answer. I'm on the plane now. Uh… If you're not there to pick me up, I do have the right address, right? The plane should be landing in a couple of hours… I'll see you soon."_

Reid groaned. He glanced at the clock and realized it was almost one thirty now. The plane had probably landed by now. He sighed and started dialing his number, before he was interrupted by a knock at his door.

Sitting the phone down he hurried to the door and pulled it open, half expecting to see Morgan and disappointed to see his father standing there instead. "Spencer!" William smiled, an awkward, forced smile, and hesitantly reached out to hug his son. He quickly corrected himself, however, and held his hand out instead.

Reid stared at it, chewing the inside of his cheek before turning and holding the door wider, motioning for him to enter. William sighed, shaking his head and walking inside, lugging his suitcase behind him. "This is nice…" he commented, following him into the living room.

"I suppose…" Reid agreed. "The guest room is down that hall," he nodded, "I'll show you later."

William nodded and sat the bag down, "I tried calling you but -"

"I wasn't at home and my phone was on vibrate." Reid interrupted, pressing his lips together.

"Ah…" William nodded again, his eyes casting around the room. "You always did love to read…"

"Yeah, I did." Reid said, sighing. "Dad, what are you doing here? Really?"

"I told you, Spencer. I want to make up for -"

"For what? Ruining my entire childhood?"

"Spencer," William's voice hardened. "I know I made some mistakes, but -"

"Mistakes?" Reid's voice raised slightly in pitch. "Dad … mistakes can be fixed. You can't fix what you did."

"Son, please, I just want to… to be the father I should've been."

Reid stared at the man, "You weren't much of a father before you left, how can you be one now?" he asked.

William blinked, "That's not true!" He snapped. "I did the best I could, Spencer. Your mother was sick and you… I never understood you. You didn't want to do anything normal kids did. I didn't know what to do, what I did wrong that made you -"

"Are you saying there's something _wrong _with me?" Reid snapped, angry now.

"No! I just…" William sighed, his fists clenched. He close his eyes and took a deep breath. Reid studied him warily, remembering things that should've been forgotten. "I said I wasn't going to do this…"

"Do what? Get angry? Dad, you're always angry about something." Reid said, "At least… you were when I was younger."

William stared at him, shaking his head. "Spencer, I'm sorry. I know I … I let my temper get the better of me sometimes, but I didn't mean to -"

"To what?" Reid demanded. "To hurt me?"

William closed his eyes, "I shouldn't have done those things, Spencer. I didn't… I didn't know what else to do -"

Reid's voice cracked, "So you beat me?" he whispered.

"I… Spencer, I said I was sorry."

"What if sorry isn't good enough?"

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**E/N: BANG! Yes, William's a child abusing jerk. **

**This isn't over yet guys… Morgan and Reid still have to make up and … William's got to "make up" for what he did…**

**Also… I'm considering writing a sequel for "Haunted" If any of you read that and would like for me to write one, let me know! These stories just don't want to be over yet, I guess. They keep nagging me for more, lol.**

**(BTW, I won't be able to update until AT LEAST January 3rd! The 17th is my last day of school and then I'll have no access to a computer unless a miricle happens! I'm gonna try to update again tomorrow and Friday if I can! Super sorry guys!)**

**Don't forget to review! Sorry for cutting you guys off there, the rest of the conversation will be in chapter two!**


	2. Who's Morgan? Your Girlfriend?

**A/N: I LOVE MY MOTHER! (for now...) She had some last minute stuff to do the school and she took me with her so I could update over the break! YAY! **

**:3 Thanks so much for all of your reviews and favorites adds! I know it was a lot to just spring on you guys, but I've been planning this since I was writing "Across the Sky in Stars" … it had to be done…**

**Once again, I apologize for not giving you my daily updates like usual. I'm still w/o internet at home… It's killing me guys… *pouts***

**Anyway… onto Chapter two!**

**WARNING: M/R slash; maybe language; mild/moderate violence; mentions of child abuse**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Ch. 2: Who's Morgan? Your girlfriend?

William studied Reid's face for a long moment, "Spencer… Please, I'm just asking for a second chance. To be the father I should've been."

Reid frowned, "It seems a little late for that…" he said.

William's fists clenched and unclenched slowly as he tried to control his breathing. "Spencer, I don't think a second chance is too much to ask for. It's not as if I'm asking you to forgive me… just give me a chance."

Reid bit his lip, frowning. "Fine. I'll give you a chance…" he said, sounding stiff and unhappy. "But I've got to go take care of something, so just… make yourself at home and I'll be back in about a half hour."

William frowned, "Isn't it rude to just leave when you have a guest?"

Reid scowled, "Dad, I need to do something, alright? I'm sorry, but I won't be gone long…" He sighed, interrupted by the sound of his cell phone buzzing. He glanced at the caller ID. Morgan. "Never mind…" he said, flipping the phone open.

"Morgan, I was about to go over to your apartment…"

"Spencer… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said -"

"No, it's not your fault, it's my fault…" Reid took a deep breath and sighed… "I… I haven't been totally honest with you lately…"

Morgan blinked on the other end of the phone, worried now. "You're not saying that you _are _using again are you?"

"No, of course not!" Reid almost squeaked and glanced over at his father who was watching him curiously. "I…" he sighed. "My father's in town…"

"Your father?" Morgan scowled, "He's not staying with you is he?"

"Actually…"

"Reid…" Morgan sighed, "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"…I don't know…" Reid chewed his lip. "I was worried about how you'd take it…"

"I don't like your dad, but… I guess if you're willing to let him stay with you then… that's your business." He paused, "You don't think you could come by later tonight, do you?"

Reid chuckled, "I don't think so…" he said, smiling. "But I'll see you tomorrow anyway…"

Morgan sighed, "What if I can't wait that long?"

"You'll have to," Reid said, shaking his head. "I'm sure you'll survive a few days."

"He's not staying too long is he?" Morgan asked, "Because I really don't think I'm that patient."

Reid rolled his eyes, "I just told you, a few days."

Morgan sighed, smiling on the other end of the line, "Alright, fine… Does that mean you forgive me?"

Reid closed his eyes, remembering their fight in perfect detail and nodding, "If you forgive me."

"Always," Morgan grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow then… And as soon as your dad's gone you're spending the weekend with me."

Reid smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow…"

"I love you, Pretty Boy."

"Love you, too." Reid sighed, hanging up and sitting the phone back down on the coffee table.

William eyed him curiously, "Morgan?" he frowned. "Who's Morgan? Your girlfriend?"

Reid spluttered for a moment and swallowed, biting his lip. Should he tell him the truth? He'd never liked lying… but there was no telling how his father would react to finding out he was dating another man… Slowly, he nodded, "Yeah…"

William pursed his lips, studying Reid. "Well… I didn't know you were dating."

Reid frowned, narrowing his eyes. "Do you think I'm incapable of getting a date?" he asked, frowning.

"No." William said, shaking his head, "I just… I didn't know. It's not like you call me, Spencer."

Reid glared at him, "Why would I? You never acted like you wanted anything to do with me."

"Spencer, that's not true!"

"You left when I was ten."

"I made a mistake, I'm only human." William defended himself.

"You didn't even say goodbye…"

"I didn't know how! I never knew how to talk to you, you weren't like normal children." William snapped back, scowling.

Reid shook his head, "…Why did I even say you could come…" he muttered, turning away, walking toward his bedroom.

William reached out and grabbed his arm tightly, yanking him back around. "Spencer, stop." he said, not letting go of his arm. "I… I'm sorry. I'm trying, alright? I want to be the father I should've been. Just … let me at least try."

Reid pressed his lip together, squirming under the angry glare. "Dad… you're hurting me…"

William blinked and let go of Reid's arm, "…I'm sorry."

"You keep saying that…" Reid muttered, eyeing the man warily.

"I mean it, Spencer. I… I'm trying, alright?"

Reid sighed, "Fine. I… I said I'd give you a second chance… so I will. But …" he bit his lip, "Don't expect a third."

"I won't need a third chance, son." William assured him, sounding grateful.

Reid stared at him for a long moment, "We'll see…" he picked up his father's suitcase. "The guest bedroom is down this way…" he said, leading him down the hall.

"So… how long have you and this Morgan been dating?"

Reid blinked, "…Three months." he said, opening the door and putting his father's bag inside.

"Three months, really?" he looked surprised. "Have you talked about moving in together?"

Reid licked his lips, shaking his head, "No, not yet… We're both… very busy and right now we're just trying to… figure things out."

"I see…" William nodded, sighing. "Your mother and I were together only two months before we got married…"

Reid blinked, "I never knew that." he said, surprised. "Did you know she was -"

"Schizophrenic? No. She didn't develop it until we'd been married about six months… and then I guess I didn't care, she was good about taking her medication then… It wasn't until after you were born that she started slipping… and then… with that Riley Jenkins murder…" he sighed, shaking his head.

Reid pressed his lips together, trying hard not to read too much into his father's words.

"So… Will I be meeting Morgan anytime soon?"

"No!" Reid said, a little too quickly. "Um…" He cleared his throat. "The thing is… Morgan… doesn't really … like you."

"She's never met me!"

Reid bit his lip, ignoring the 'she' and moved on. "But Morgan knows about… what you did."

"What do you mean? About… everything?" William asked, frowning.

"No… just about you leaving. Morgan lost… her father when she was ten." Reid said, trying to keep a straight face. He'd never been very good at lying, especially not to his father. "He was killed right in front of … her."

William sighed, "And she probably doesn't like the idea of your father just walking away, I suppose."

"No."

"Well… maybe after this… you can change her opinion…"

Reid sighed, "Maybe…" he nodded, knowing there was no way Morgan, stubborn and overprotective as he was, would forgive William once he knew the whole truth. If he ever found out that is… And as it was, Reid had no intentions of ever letting his father know that Morgan was actually a man anyway…

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**E/N: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter?… What do you guys think? Good? Bad? Terrible?**

**Don't worry, I hate William Reid enough to NEVER forgive him… especially in this story…**

**Don't forget to review!**


	3. Well Um

**A/N: Thank my uncle for letting me use his internet :) Thanks so much for all of the reviews guys! Glad you're enjoying the story so far! I'm sorry I can't give you my usual daily updates! :'( I'm trying!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild/moderate violence; possibly language; mentions of child abuse**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Ch. 3: Well… Um… 

"So…" William said, trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen over the two of them. "I guess you're not going over to your girlfriend's apartment now… What exactly do you want to do?"

Reid pursed his lips, thinking for a moment. "I don't know," he said finally. "I usually spend most of my free time at Morgan's…"

"…Oh… Well… do you… do you have any movies or… um…" He floundered, frowning slightly.

Reid sighed, shaking his head after another long, tense pause. There was no way he and his father could ever have a normal relationship… "Are you hungry?" he asked, "There's a restaurant not far from here that's pretty good…"

William paused, nodding. "That's sounds like a good idea… I skipped lunch today."

"Good, let's go…" Reid said, leading his father out to the parking lot outside of the apartment complex. When they reached his car he saw his father raise a brow, and knew he was barely holding back some remark about it.

"…You couldn't afford a new car?" he asked after a moment.

Reid sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I could, but I like my car, Dad." he said. "It's not like I do much driving anyway, the team's always traveling."

"Well, I suppose that's true, but… I mean you don't actually take your girlfriend on dates in this do you?" William asked, climbing into the passenger seat.

Reid bit his lip, trying not to scream. "No. We usually take Morgan's car…"

"So… you spend your time at her apartment, you go out in her car…" he shook his head slowly. "Spencer, the man is supposed to drive his girlfriend and pick her up. It sounds to me like you're letting her do what you should be doing."

Reid scowled, "Dad, my relationship with Morgan is none of your business…" he snapped, fighting to control his anger. "We're happy, that's what matters to us."

"Well, I didn't say that… I just think that in a relationship, the man has certain responsibilities that he should -"

"Responsibilities like raising their child or taking care of their mentally ill wife? Maybe helping to pay the bills or cook food sometimes?" Reid asked, turning to glare at his father.

William pressed his lips together, "Spencer… I -"

"I know. You're sorry. You've already said that." Reid interrupted him, turning his eyes back to the road, his fingers tightening around the leather of the steering wheel. His father was probably one of the few people who could make him so angry, so quickly.

William pressed his lips together, staring out the window for a long moment. He'd expected there to be problems between Spencer and him… things hadn't exactly gone smoothly when Spencer had been investigating the Riley Jenkins murder either but at least then they'd managed to somewhat ignore discussing past issues because of the homicide investigation… The whole point of this entire trip was to discuss the past and hopefully move past it. He wanted to be the father he should've been, he wanted to do right by his son and he hoped it wasn't too late…

By the time they pulled into the restaurant parking lot, Reid could already feel a headache coming on. He just wanted his father to leave and for Morgan to come over and just watch a movie or talk… anything to not have to spend this time with his father. He was seriously considering just telling his dad to go back home, but he'd told him he was going to give him another chance and he didn't want to go back on his word… Maybe for once his father would actually come through for him. Maybe he would be able forge some sort of relationship with the man - granted a relationship that should've been in place thirty years ago… Better late than never he supposed.

"This is a nice place…" William commented as they climbed out of the car. Another of his vain attempts to ease the tension between him and his son.

"Yeah… I came here with…" He trailed off. He and Morgan had gone to the restaurant a couple of weeks ago when they'd gotten off earlier than expected and Morgan decided to take him out for an early dinner.

"With who? Morgan?" William asked curiously as they walked through the doors.

"…Yeah." Reid said, nodding slowly, forcing a smile when they were greeted by the hostess and led to a table that was - thankfully - in a secluded area of the restaurant.

William looked around, fiddling with the napkin rings, both men well aware of the thick tension between them. "…So… Um… Was there any special reason that you and Morgan came here?" he asked.

"No, we just had some time and decided to eat out." Reid answered, shrugging. He really wished his father would stop asking questions about Morgan because he didn't want to talk to him about any of that. It wasn't his father's business as far as he was concerned.

William nodded… "Have you two… uh… had sex yet?"

Reid's eyes widened, "Dad!" he choked. "Th-That's none of your business!"

William pressed his lips together, "Look… I'm just… Asking questions. I don't mean anything by them. I remember what it was like to be young and in love…"

Reid almost rolled his eyes, "Do you?" he asked, working extremely hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

His father nodded, "Yes, I do… And… If you are having sex … you're being careful aren't you?"

"Dad, Mom had this talk with me when I was twelve. I know what STDs are and I know what condoms are. You don't need to go through that with me." Reid said, frowning at him.

William bit his lip, "Right…" he sighed. "Spencer, I'm trying alright? I want to get to know you and… If this Morgan girl is your girlfriend, she's a big part of your life. I'd at least like to know something about her."

Reid winced and looked down at the napkin, fiddling with it the way his father had been doing moments ago. He could be honest without telling his father that Morgan was a man, right? Of course he could. "…Fine." he relented. "What do you want to know?"

"Well… How did you two meet?" William asked curiously.

Reid licked his lips… "Well… We, uh, we met at work… when I first started working with the BAU…"

"That was… years ago. I thought you said you two have only been dating for three months?" William looked confused, raising a brow.

"We have… We were friends for a long time before we actually started dating…"

"So… Morgan is in the FBI too?"

Slowly, Reid nodded, "Yeah…"

"Oh… I always thought the FBI was pretty strict about agents dating each other." William mused, looking surprised.

"Well… We haven't actually reported the relationship to the Unit Director… Agent Strauss…" Reid said, clearing his throat. "We're still sort of… figuring things out."

"It's been three months," William frowned, "What's to figure out?"

Reid bit his lip, and breathed a sigh of relief when the waiter arrived, momentarily interrupting their conversation. They ordered their meals and William immediately jumped back on the question when the waiter hurried away. "So… What's to figure out?"

"…Well, like I said, we were friends first. Morgan… Morgan's my best friend and we're still… um… trying to transition from being friends to… to being more than friends." Reid fumbled and sighed. That was about as close to the truth as he was willing to get.

William frowned, nodding slowly, thinking for a moment. "I suppose… that makes sense." He didn't really looked convinced but decided maybe it was better to tread lightly, sensing that he had already stepped over the line a bit. "So… How… How are you enjoying working with the BAU?"

Reid stared at his father, wondering if the conversation sounded as stiff to William's ears as it did to his. "It's great. It's what I've always wanted to do…"

William nodded, feeling the awkward tension starting to return again. There had to be something they could talk about… "Well… Um… Do you follow football?"

Reid almost laughed, "Dad, did I ever like sports?"

"Right… Guess that's a no." William said, frowning again. "…So… Have you, uh… worked any interesting cases?"

"I've worked… a _lot _of interesting cases… But… but uh… I'm not sure this is the best time to talk about cases, Dad."

William frowned, "Something wrong?" he asked, confused.

"Dad… My job's… kind of stressful and it doesn't exactly make the best conversation, alright? It's rewarding when we save someone's life, when we find a missing child… but… but the one's we don't save aren't as rewarding and I try to… not think too much about work when I'm not there."

"Of course…" William nodded slowly, licking his lips. "… What do you do when you aren't working?"

Reid thought for a moment. "Lately I've been spending a lot of time with Morgan… But I lecture once a month at Georgetown… I teach a GED class twice a week at the prison and I've been thinking about getting a BA in Psychobiology…"

William blinked, sitting back in his chair and looking surprised. "That's impressive… Um… Do you enjoy teaching the GED class?"

Reid nodded, "Yeah, I do. I mean… a lot of the people in the class come from bad families and foster homes where they were abused and they dropped out to get away from it all… I can almost relate to what they went through… Besides, everyone should be able to learn, especially if they want to."

William looked down, biting his lip… "Well… Um… I'm glad you're making a difference, son." he sighed, feeling another awkward silence about to fall on them. "So… You're thinking about getting another degree?"

"…Yeah." Reid nodded, looking down at his hands, letting out a tired breath and looking back up as the sever arrived with their food. Grateful for the distraction, Reid forced a smile and thanked the man as they moved the napkins out of the way and their food was placed on the table.

He was almost disappointed when the waiter left and he glanced back at his father again. How were they supposed to have a relationship if they couldn't even have one simple conversation without someone getting angry or offended? "This looks good…" William said, yet again trying to sound casual and failing miserably. Reid suddenly realized that his horrible people skills might have been just as much a byproduct of his father as it was his intelligence…

"Yeah…" Reid nodded, taking the fork out of the napkin ring and twirling it idly in the pasta. "It does."

William sighed, turning his own fork over in his hands, "…Um… Let's eat then…"

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**E/N: Awkward much? Hmm… Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

**I'm not sure if it would be a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science for Psychobiology… I did some research, of course, but I couldn't find anything about that and I don't have much time for looking things up anyway…**

**Once again, I'm sorry for the delay!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	4. I'd Like To Meet Your Girlfriend

**A/N: Super sorry for taking so long to update guys! Now not only do I not have internet at home, but my computer killed itself halfway through the break so now the only way for me to type chapters is to type them on my mom's desktop, then put them on the USB drive and hope I can use Mrs. Renee's computer after school… I'm considering shooting my laptop, but EVERYTHING I had was on that thing and I love/hate it so I'm hoping it can be fixed… **

**Anways, thanks so much for your wonderful reviews and your patience and for just being so dang awesome! :) I luvs you peoples!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild/moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

Ch. 4: I'd Like To Meet Your Girlfriend

Dinner was every bit as awkward as the rest of their time spent together had been and by the time they got back into Reid's car to leave, Reid was ready for his father to go home. They never really talked much at all because Reid pretty much shot down every one of William's vain attempts at conversation. It wasn't that he didn't want to give his father a chance; it was just that he didn't quite feel comfortable just talking to his father like everything was completely normal. There were too many bad memories and guilt between them for that to happen anytime soon.

The car ride was silent; apparently William was starting to realize that it wouldn't be so easy to gain his son's forgiveness. He thought mostly about what they could talk about, but realized that before they really made any progress, they both had to get off their chests what they were really feeling. He wasn't sure he could do that and judging from Spencer's behavior, it wouldn't be all that easy for him to do it either.

He took a deep breath as they entered the apartment again and finally asked, "Are you going to talk to me?"

"What?" Reid frowned at his father, turning the lock back and putting his keys down on the coffee table. The question caught him off-guard, especially after the silence in the car ride home.

William frowned, biting his lip. "Every time I try to talk to you, you just… you're making it difficult, Spencer. I'm really trying, but how are we supposed to move past everything if you refuse to talk to me?" he demanded.

Reid scowled, "Dad, I'm not the one who has anything to explain. I didn't abandon my family and leave my only son to take care of a mother who was mentally ill and just expect that he would be fine. I didn't get drunk to avoid facing my problems and take out all of my anger on a ten year old. You did. That was your mistake and as far as I'm concerned, you haven't earned forgiveness yet. You keep saying that you're trying, but what I want to know, is what are you trying to do exactly? You never said one nice thing to me as a kid, do you realize that? You made my life hell and then you just walked out without even saying goodbye…"

Reid could feel tears coming now and he knew it was because he was angry. He wanted to hit something, he really did. But he refused to do that because that was what his father did when he got angry and he would _not _be like his father.

William took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that everything his son had said was true and that Reid was an adult now, not a child. He had a right to speak up for himself. "… I said I was sorry, Spencer, what else do you want?" he demanded, fist clenching involuntarily. He took another deep breath and unclenched them, reminding himself again to stay calm.

Reid's jaw tightened. "What do I want?" he frowned, his voice cracking. "How about an explanation for starters? You never gave me a reason why. Not for leaving, not for hurting me… Not for any of it. And you just expect after twenty years for me to take your apology and forget everything you ever did? It doesn't work like that, Dad."

The tears were welling over now and Reid scrubbed at them angrily, wishing he'd never allowed his father to come. All it was doing was making his life more difficult and complicated and he'd only been in town a few hours! How much more of this was he going to have to take?

William frowned, "Spencer, stop crying, you aren't a child. Men don't cry."

Reid glared at his father, not believing he had the nerve to say something like to him. Swallowing past a hard lump in his throat, Reid shook his head. "Just…" he bit his lip to cut off the long string of swears building up inside of him. He'd never been so tempted in his life to hurt someone. "Just go somewhere and leave me alone, alright? I can't deal with this right now…"

He turned and slammed the door to his bedroom, hearing his father banging on the door a few moments later. "Spencer! Spencer … I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry! Please talk to me, son. I … I'm sorry, ok?"

Reid ignored him. He could stand out there all night if he wanted to, he wasn't talking to him again until the next morning. He knew he'd say something that he would regret or make his father angry and he was already so tired of arguing it was ridiculous. He just wanted to be with Morgan, safe and happy in his arms, but damn it, he was at home, nearly ready to scream in frustration because of his father. Could things really get any more complicated?

**~/.\~**

Reid woke up early the next morning to the sound of pots clinking in the kitchen. He frowned and stumbled out of his room to find his father cooking breakfast. "Good morning, son." William smiled. The smile faltered at the look of complete dejection on Reid's face. He'd been hoping that his father's visit was all just a nightmare and Morgan was in the kitchen cooking.

"Morning," Reid muttered, trying to frown. He had to remind himself that he'd promised to give his dad a chance and shoot down all of his attempts would only make things more difficult.

"So, what are you doing today?" William asked, pouring two cups of coffee for them. Reid tried to ignore the fact that he was drinking out of the mug Morgan usually used when he was there.

"Work." Reid said. "If we don't get a case I should be home by around ten o'clock."

"Oh… Well, do you think your boss would mind if I stopped by around lunch? I'd like to meet your girlfriend."

"NO!" Reid balked, almost choking on his coffee. He stared at his father with wide, horrified eyes. There was no way he could allow him to 'meet' Morgan. He couldn't let him within five miles of his office.

William stared at Reid with a frowned, looking confused.

"Look, Dad, I told you. Morgan doesn't like you and besides, we haven't exactly reported the relationship yet and we'd really like to keep things, quiet, alright?"

William sighed, "Well… what am I supposed to do all day?"

Reid frowned, taking a long swig from his coffee cup and turning to get ready for work. "I don't know, Dad. But you're in DC; there are a lot of things you could do to pass the time…"

William sighed and watched Reid close the door to his bedroom again, hearing a show start a few minutes later. He shook his head and glanced around at the few sparse pictures that littered the place. They were mostly pictures of Spencer and Diana, but there were a few of Reid and his team mates.

Frowning, the elder Reid went back to the guest bedroom to get ready for the day, wondering which DC tourist attraction he would be forced to spend his time in while his son was working.

* * *

**E/N: Hmm… things are getting kinda interesting, and trust me, chapter five complicates things majorly… but SHH! It's a secret, so I can't tell you :P**

**Also, some news on this series: my muse has decided that crack is fun, and so I have a bazillion new story ideas… However, I'm currently writing this and "Before the Storm" so it takes a lot of my time…**

**So, here's what I'm doing. Once I finish "Before the Storm" I'm going to start posting an NCIS/Criminal Minds crossover (first time writing the NCIS peeps so I hope it's good!) and after I finish this story, I'm going to start the sequel to "Before the Storm"**

**The next story in this series (I've got 13 total planned so far and there will be more… I told you my muse is on crack) will be called "Claustrophobic" it's just a oneshot so I'll probably post that as soon as I can once I finish this, but the next multi-chapter story is "Wedding Bells" and that one might take a little while to get posted bc of the other stories I'm working on and the insanity that is my life… But that's a good ways down the road anyway, considering this fic is only on chapter 4… Just thought I'd let you guys know, sorry for the long end note!**

**Don't forget to review! (oh and good news! Next chapter has Morgan! Woohoo!)**


	5. A Jealous Derek Is A Sexy Derek

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of the reviews guys! Glad you're still enjoying the story! Once again, I'm sorry for not updating every day … it's killing me slowly :(**

**So, there's actually Morgan in this chapter finally… and some… uh… jealousy? Hmm…**

**WARNING: M/R slash; mild/moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

Ch. 5: A Jealous Derek Is A Sexy Derek

Reid was more relieved than he thought he should really admit when he finally pulled into the parking lot outside of the FBI headquarters in Quantico. Breathing deeply, just glad to be away from his father and the fighting and bad feelings, he climbed out of the car only to be bombarded by a colorful streak he immediately recognized as Garcia.

She practically tackled him to the ground and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him for nearly a full minute before stepping back and studying him carefully. "Reid… Can I talk to you?" she asked, frowning at him.

"Um… Sure…?" he said it like a question, wondering what was wrong with her.

"Derek's worried about you, sweetie…" she began, pausing for a moment. "He says you've been really distant lately and… well he wants to make sure that you're ok, ya know? And I have to admit, you have been acting a little out of whack for the past couple of weeks…"

"What? No, Garcia, it's fine. I… I talked to him last night and everything is all worked out, alright? I promise."

She pursed her lips skeptically, "Are you sure?" she asked, raising a brow. "I mean, really, really sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." He promised, nodding. "It was just… A tiny misunderstanding, that's all."

"A misunderstanding?" She asked, frowning at him again.

He sighed, "Alright, maybe I was just sort of waiting for the right time to tell him something, but I told so everything's alright now. I promise."

"Tell him what?" Garcia asked, curious now and still a little disbelieving.

"It's kind of personal, Garcia." He said slowly, trying to avoid telling her that his father was in town. That would just bring up too many questions that he didn't want to really answer at the moment.

"Oh, so you can tell Morgan about it but not me?" Garcia pouted, putting on her best wounded puppy face.

Reid almost laughed, "Garcia, he's my boyfriend." He pointed out.

She grinned, "I know. And I love hearing you say it… By the way… when are you guys going to tell Hotch, Rossi and Jayje…? Don't they deserve to know?"

"Of course they do… But we aren't ready for that yet… You and Prentiss only know because you found out by accident."

She rolled her eyes, "Irrelevant, Junior G-Man. You need to tell the rest of the team. They're your family."

Reid almost winced at the word 'family'. The team was his real family, he knew. Not his father. His father was practically a stranger… A very temperamental and borderline alcoholic stranger who had a very slim grip on his temper. It was almost laughable, really… if it had been someone else's life and not his own.

"Something wrong, Reid?" Garcia asked, confused by his pained expression.

"No, nothing." Reid said quickly, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Just a little distracted is all…" He swallowed hard, his voice rising slightly in pitch when he spoke again, "We should… We should go inside now…"

She nodded, eyeing him skeptically and followed him inside, making a mental note to keep watching him to see if he did anything else strange or out of character before the day was over.

**~/.\~**

Morgan hadn't arrived yet when Reid sat down at his desk, which was good and bad. Reid really wanted to see him, but at the same time he felt like he needed a little while to relax after his conversation with Garcia in the parking lot. She'd been watching him oddly as they walked in and he knew she'd keep doing so at least until the day was over. Not much got past Garcia, that was for sure.

He yawned and realized he hadn't finished his cup of coffee that morning at his apartment… He'd been in such a hurry to get out of there and as far away from his father as possible, that he hadn't even thought much about it until now and he was starting to feel the caffeine deprivation set in.

Grabbing his mug, he headed to the break room to get a cup, as bitter as it was if he added enough sugar it would be almost drinkable and right now that was all he really wanted. With his mind on coffee and not where he was going, he didn't spot the young intern, a girl in her early twenties with short blond hair, until it was too late and he'd knocked the files she'd been carrying right out of her hands as well as toppling them both to the ground.

"I am so sorry!" he apologized, pushing himself up on his knees and gathering scattered papers for her as she searched around for her missing pair of glasses. He found them first and offered them to her slowly.

She smiled, "Thanks… And it was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going… I'm sorry."

He smiled and shook his head, "It was my fault…" he assured her. Frowning, he studied her face for a second. "I haven't seen you around before… are you, uh, new?"

"I just started a couple of days ago, yeah." She replied, smiling at him kindly. She leaned forward, her hand brushing his as she grabbed another report and slid in back into one of the files. Her face was only inches from his now and he bit his lip, getting uncomfortable.

"I'm Jessie," She introduced herself.

"Sp-Spencer…" Reid said, trying to back away and grabbing his coffee mug.

"Spencer… Would you… Um… Like to go get coffee sometime after work next week?"

He licked his lips, stuttering slightly, "Well… that sounds nice, but actually… I'm in a relationship right now, so…"

Her face fell, "Oh… I'm sorry…" she apologized.

"No, it's not… I mean… Maybe if… Well… It's sort of hard to explain, actually…" Reid sighed, shrugging as he snatched up a few more papers and handed them to her, starting to stand all the way up and tripped over his untied shoe lace, falling again, this time his face right in front of hers.

"Sorry…" he breathed, starting to push himself back up.

She smiled, "Don't worry abo-"

"What the hell!"

The two of them jerked away from each other and Reid looked up to see an angry Derek Morgan frowning down at them. "Reid? What…" He couldn't even finish his sentence, his face was livid though and he looked like he usually did when they were dealing with an unsub that hurt children…

"Derek… Um…" Reid frowned, stuttering slightly and standing, taking the young woman's hand and helping her up too. "This isn't what it looks like…"

"I'm sure," Morgan growled, scowling at them. Before Reid could say anything else, the older man had turned and went back in the direction of the bullpen. Reid sighed and shook his head dejectedly. Great, now Morgan thought he was cheating on him… Not only was that ridiculous, it was almost insulting.

Jessie bit her lip, staring after him… "Sorry about that," She said quietly. "Was he the … um… thing that was complicated?"

Reid blinked, and then slowly nodded. She smiled, "Just my luck… A cute, nice guy and he's not only taken, he's gay…" she shook her head, smiled at him again and sighed. "Well… It was nice meeting you, Spencer. I should probably go drop these files off…"

Reid watched her go down the hall toward the main offices and sighed, glancing down at the coffee cup in his hands. Something told him he was going to need a lot of coffee to get through this morning…

**~/.\~**

Morgan couldn't believe what he'd seen… Reid had been right on top of that woman… A pretty, young blond woman… Had that been the reason he'd been acting so weird lately? It was hard to believe that Reid's dad would just suddenly appear out of nowhere and Reid would actually give him another chance… But thinking like that meant he thought Reid was a liar…

Not only was Reid not a liar, but he was also very bad a lying. Morgan couldn't really believe that Reid would cheat on him anyway… But in his mind there wasn't much of another explanation. He was almost certain that he was overreacting to the entre situation, which meant he should talk to Reid and find out the truth.

He wasn't ready to talk to Reid just yet though… First he needed to calm down so that he didn't say something he would most definitely regret later and then he needed to get a second opinion on the whole incident as well, which is how he ended up walking past his own desk and towards Garcia's bat cave…

**~/.\~**

Garcia was busy tapping away on her keyboard, lost in some cyber world when Morgan entered the dark office. She didn't even hear him come in until he sat down in one of the chairs at her desk and said, "Baby Girl, can I ask you something?"

She jumped nearly a foot in the air and whirled around in her chair, giving him a look full of so much anger he was afraid he would explode into a thousand tiny pieces. "Derek Morgan, don't ever do that to me again! I could've had a heart attack!"

He smiled slightly and nodded, "Sorry… It won't happen again… I just need to talk to you for a minute… About Reid."

She frowned, "Is he still acting weird?" she asked worriedly.

"Not exactly… But… If you saw Kevin lying on the floor with a young, beautiful woman … what would you do?"

She thought about quickly, "I'd kick him where it hurts and punch her pathetic throat in…" she said, "But I don't have to worry about that; Kevin wouldn't cheat on me…"

Morgan frowned, pressing his lips together, "But if that ever did happen, the most logical answer would be that he was cheating?" he asked.

"Well… I suppose there could be other answers… Why?" She frowned, watching him worriedly.

"I just saw Reid outside the break room with some new intern girl. They were on the ground talking and she had her face _right there _in his. …What else could it be?"

Garcia frowned, "I don't think Reid would do that to you, sweet heart… I don't even think Reid knows how to cheat, let alone wants to. He's completely head-over-heels for you. There's got to be another explanation."

"You think so?" Morgan asked hopefully.

"Absolutely," she nodded. "Did you ask him what happened?"

He paused, sighing, "Not exactly…" He said. "I just sort of freaked out and then I came here."

"Then talk to him about it. I'm sure there's another explanation, Derek. Reid's not the kind of guy who'd be unfaithful. Especially not to you…"

Morgan nodded, standing and hugging her, "Alright, Baby Girl. I'll talk to him… You're probably right. I was just being …"

"Jealous?" She supplied, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

He smirked, shaking his head, "Why do you find so much amusement in that?" he asked.

She grinned wider, "Because a jealous Derek is a sexy Derek," she replied, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

**~/.\~**

William sighed, getting bored after only a half hour of driving around DC. Finally, he just decided he didn't care what Spencer said, he wanted to meet his girlfriend and he wanted to spend time with his son. How else was he supposed to get to know him and be the father that he'd never been?

He leaned forward and told the cab driver to take him to the train station. He could find out how to get to the FBI headquarters once he reached Quantico. He was determined that he not fail this time like he had before. He wanted to have a second chance and that meant going all the way, doing everything that he could to be a part of his son's life, including his love life.

**E/N: Hmm… William seems determined to ruin things, doesn't he? Yeah, I thought so too… Good thing I hate him, huh?**

**Don't forget to review! Pwetty pwease! The review button's feelin' kind of lonely down there…**


	6. Let Me Explain

**A/N: Once again, my sincere apologies for taking such a long time to update! This time it was not only that I couldn't get to a computer, but I was hit with the worst case of writer's block I've had in a while… It sucked monumentally… But I worked through it :)**

**Hopefully, this isn't too terrible! Let me know what y'all think!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild/moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

Ch. 6: Let Me Explain

Reid sighed, staring at Morgan's empty desk chair, knowing that he was almost definitely talking to Garcia about what he'd seen outside of the break room. He'd tried to catch up with his lover before he'd gotten that far so that he could actually explain what had happened, but he hadn't been fast enough. He stared dejectedly at his empty coffee cup, still feeling the nagging need for caffeine and sighed, looking toward Garcia's office. He figured Morgan would be talking to Garcia for a few more minutes at least, so he decided to go get a quick cup of coffee while he was waiting, nodding to JJ and Prentiss as they walked past him.

"Did Reid look sick to you?" JJ asked in a hush tone as they walked to the bullpen.

Prentiss frowned, glancing back toward the door that stood open, the smells of bitter-sweet coffee wafting out in small burst as Agents bustled around. "Sick?" she thought about it. "Maybe a little worried…"

"What about?" The blond agent wondered aloud. "Do you think he's ok?"

Prentiss shrugged, wishing she could tell her what Garcia had told her a few nights earlier. But JJ still didn't know about Reid and Morgan's relationship and it wasn't her place to tell her. "He's probably fine… Just looking for his caffeine fix," She joked, smiling lightly. Trying not to think about how worried Garcia had said Morgan was about the younger man. Reid was fine; there was nothing to worry about.

At least, she kept telling herself that until she saw an unfamiliar man milling around Reid's desk talking quietly to Morgan. What was going on now? She wondered.

"Who's that?" she asked, thinking JJ might know the older man.

"I don't know," JJ answered. "Maybe he's a cop…"

Prentiss frowned, "He doesn't look like a cop," She said, pursing her lips skeptically.

"Well let's find out…"

**~/.\~**

William fidgeted with the FBI Visitors pass that he'd been given when he entered the large government building. He had taken the elevator up to the floor where Spencer worked and walked into a large office space filled with desks and agents walking around, talking on phones and typing away on their computers. He frowned, scanning the activity for his son, but not finding him. Frowning, he walked toward the railing, moving out of the way of a young blond woman carrying a coffee cup and swept his eyes across the space, spotting a familiar face.

The dark skinned man he'd met when Spencer had been investigating Riley Jenkins's murder. Agent Morgan… Wait… _Morgan?_ He frowned, shaking his head as a terrible thought occurred to him. But it wasn't possible. Agent Morgan was a man… And Morgan was his last name anyway… He didn't recall having been told the man's first name, but he refused to believe that his son was dating another man. That was simply not a possibility. Still, Agent Morgan would know how this Morgan girl was and he'd probably know where Spencer was too.

Decided, William found the stairs down into the bullpen and approached the agent. "Agent Morgan," he said, clearing his throat as he stopped next to the desk the man was sitting at.

The other man looked surprised when he saw him. Morgan felt suddenly guilty for ever doubting Reid, even for a second, when he saw William Reid standing in front of him, looking nervous and determined at the same time. "Mr. Reid… Can I help you with something?" he asked curiously.

"I'm, uh… I'm looking for my son, actually… Is he here yet?"

"I… I saw him this morning, yeah." Morgan answered, but before he could say anything else JJ and Prentiss walked up, looking confused.

"Who's this?" Prentiss asked curiously, eyeing the older man.

William almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two women. Surely one of them was Morgan… He held out his hand to the dark haired woman, "I'm William Reid," he said.

"Oh, Reid's dad," the woman nodded, "Um… It's… nice to meet you." She said kindly, her smile tight and apparently forced. "I'm Emily Prentiss, I work with him."

She wondered why he looked slightly disappointed when she introduced herself, but shrugged it off, turning to JJ. "This is JJ," She said.

He tried not to frown when he took the young blond woman's hand. Alright, so Emily and JJ… Surely there was another woman on the team, right? There had to be someone named Morgan here somewhere… Someone besides the intimidating man sitting at the desk next to him.

"Have you seen Spencer?" he asked, "I wanted to speak to him."

"We just saw him," Prentiss nodded. "Does he… Does he know you're here?"

"He doesn't know I'm in the building, but I'm staying with him for a few days, yes." William answered, nodding.

"He's in the break room," JJ said, pointing in the direction of the room. "Probably getting coffee."

"I'll get him." Agent Morgan quickly announced. "I need to tell him something anyway,"

"What'd you do this time Morgan?" Prentiss teased.

William winced, wishing she hadn't called him Morgan… He still didn't want to believe it. It couldn't possibly be true… He watched the agent disappear into the break room and considered following him, but glanced at the two woman and figured they'd just try to stop him if he did so he settled for talking to them instead, trying to convince himself that he was being ridiculous. There was no way that his son was dating another man.

**~/.\~**

Reid yawned as he poured his coffee and took a long drink from it. He sighed in relief at finally getting the caffeine he'd been craving, then glanced down at his watch. He should be getting back to his desk, Morgan was probably there by now and he had to explain what had actually happened earlier. He was turning to leave when the blond intern, Jessie, walked in with an empty coffee cup and smiled awkwardly at him.

"Hi again, Spencer." She said kindly. "I, uh… I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble with your boyfriend…"

"Oh, no… Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault; it was just a misunderstanding. He'll understand once I explain what happened." Reid assured her, smiling a little at her. "He just overreacted."

She laughed, pouring coffee into the cup, "Does he do that a lot?" she asked curiously.

"No, I haven't seen him react like that before…" Reid shrugged. He knew it was probably only because he'd been acting so strange lately that Morgan would even think something like that, and he couldn't really blame him. But he was going to explain and get this entire thing taken care of so that they could get back to what they had before.

"Hmm… you two haven't been together that long, have you?" she asked.

"A few months," Reid said, "Why?"

She shrugged, "Just a guess…" she said. "If you haven't seen him get jealous before, then you couldn't have been together that long."

"Jealous?" Reid frowned, "Jealous about what? He looked angry to me…"

"Well he was… because he assumed that you and I were doing something… inappropriate together. And that made him jealous because he doesn't want you to be with anyone except him…"

Reid raised a brow, grinning. "You're going to make a great profiler soon." He told her.

She blushed, "You really think so?"

"Absolutely. You've got a natural talent."

She beamed at him, "Thanks," She said, twirling a spoon in the coffee cup as she mixed in the sugar and cream.

They heard someone clear their throat and their heads snapped back toward the doorway where Morgan stood, looking angry. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked angrily.

Reid spluttered, "D-Derek! Look, this isn't what you think, alright? Let me explain –"

"Explain what? You obviously don't have enough respect for me to at least pretend to feel bad about what happened earlier."

"Derek!" Reid frowned, getting angry now. He knew it might not look perfect, but they'd hardly been caught in the act. He and Jessie were talking for God's sake! Since when was talking to someone else cheating? "That isn't true. Look, we just bumped into each other earlier and I was helping her pick up the papers she dropped. And just now, I came to get coffee while waiting for you and she just happened to walk in. It was a coincidence, Derek. We've never even met before today!"

Morgan frowned, chewing his lip and looking between the two of them. "Spencer," he sighed, shaking his head… Staring into his lover's eyes and wanting so badly to believe him. Most of him already did… Maybe he was still being jealous, but a tiny part of him was still wondering. Sighing, he shook his head again. "Your dad's here." He said, motioning out the door.

Reid glanced in direction and paled, glancing back at Morgan pleadingly. "Derek –"

"We'll talk about this later, ok?" Morgan said shortly.

Reid sighed, staring at the older man for a long moment before steeling his nerves and reigning in both his disappointment and anger at his father for just showing up, like he'd specifically told him not to, and walked out past the others and braced himself for his father's questions and complications.

* * *

**E/N: Not sure about this chapter… like I said, writer's block was massive… Next chapter will hopefully actually get us somewhere (besides screwing up Morgan and Reid's relationship…)**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	7. You Were Never A Father To Me

**A/N: Another huge thanks for all of your fantastical reviews guys! Glad you're enjoying it so far!**

**Once again, I'm super sorry for not updating every day! It's driving me insane…**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild/moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

Ch. 7: You Were Never a Father to Me

"Spencer," William greeted him, not quiet smiling all the way.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Reid hissed. "I told you not to come."

"You're my son and I wanted to see you." William frowned. "Besides, why is my showing up a bad thing? Unless there was something you didn't want me to know…" He said, eyeing Morgan suspiciously for a moment as the dark skinned agent sat down at his desk.

Reid's eyes widened and he grabbed his dad's arm, dragging him into an empty conference room. "Dad, you need to leave. Now."

"Not until you explain something to me."

Reid pressed his lips together, "Dad…"

"No, Spencer, listen. Agent Morgan out there… He wouldn't happen to be the same Morgan you were talking to on the phone last night, would he?"

Reid's eyes widened. "No!" he balked, shaking his head. "Dad, look, this is none of your –"

"Then who is your girlfriend?" William insisted. "Because neither of those women was named Morgan. I want to meet her, Spencer. Today."

"Dad, no."

"Why not?" William demanded, getting angry now. "I am your father, Spencer. I want to have a relationship with you and that includes knowing your girlfriends and –"

"Dad, you don't have a right to know anything about me. You gave up that right the day you walked out on me and Mom. To be honest, I don't want you here. And if you're going to keep insisting on butting into my life, then maybe you should leave."

William frowned, "Spencer you said you would give me a chance. But you're not letting me in at all. Every time I ask you a personal question, you ignore it and change the subject. Now I want to meet your girlfriend now."

"No." Reid shook his head, his jaw tight. He was so tempted to hit his dad it was almost a physical fight not to do so.

William shook his head, taking a deep breath. "Spencer, either you introduce me to her, or I'll go to your boss and find out who she is."

Reid's eyes widened. "Dad, no!" he shook his head. "You can't do that!"

"I can and I will," William warned. "Unless of course you introduce me to Morgan."

Reid bit his lip, realizing that there wasn't much of a way around this… he could ask Garcia to lie for him but he didn't really want to bring her into this. "I can't." he said slowly, shaking his head.

"Why not?" William frowned, narrowing his eyes at his son.

"Because… because I don't have a girlfriend, Dad." Reid took a deep breath. "I have a boyfriend named Derek Morgan."

William looked like he was going to pass out. "Boyfriend." He breathed. "You're … you're telling me you're gay…" He'd suspected as soon as he'd seen Agent Morgan, but he still wasn't quite ready to accept it. "No…"

"Dad –"

"NO!" William almost yelled. "My son is not gay! I won't allow it!"

Reid scowled, "You don't have any control over it." He snapped. "Now get out!"

"You aren't gay!" William insisted, grabbing Reid's shoulders and shaking him. "I won't believe it!"

Reid shook his father's hands off and took a step back. "I said leave, Dad. Now." He said, tears blurring slightly in his eyes. "NOW!"

William was shaking as he flung the door to the conference room open and stormed out. Reid watched him go, scrubbing at the tears in his eyes. He walked back out the bullpen and fell into his desk chair, his face red.

"Reid are you alright?" Prentiss asked, watching him worriedly.

Reid looked up at her, his hands still shaking slightly. "I'm fine…" he replied. "Just… My dad's not the easiest person to talk to."

She smiled sympathetically. "Well… At least you tried, that's what's important."

"Yeah…" he muttered, turning his attention to the files on his desk. "I guess you're right."

**~/.\~**

Morgan watched William leave in a huff and had to fight the urge to comfort Reid when he watched the younger man sit back down at his desk, tears glittering in his eyes. He wanted to talk to Reid now, but he was too angry and knew he wouldn't be able to listen to what Reid said right now. He was too engrossed in his emotions to be willing to understand. He kept telling himself that Garcia was right and there was another, more logical explanation to what he'd seen… He just wasn't quite ready to hear it right now.

Sighing, he leaned forward and tried to focus on his paper work. After about a half hour, Prentiss got up to get coffee and Reid turned toward him, "Derek, can we please talk?" he asked slowly.

"Not now, Spencer." Morgan shook his head apologetically. "Give me a little while, alright?"

Reid sighed, "How can you honestly think I'd do something like that to you?" he asked, frowning at him.

"Reid, please." Morgan shook his head again, "Just give me a little bit, ok? We can talk later tonight, right now I just… don't want to talk."

"Alright… I'll call you later tonight then…"

"That's probably a good idea," Morgan nodded, turning back to his desk.

Reid sighed and pressed his lips together, turning back to the files on his desk and just staring at them. Finally, he stood up and walked down the hall, passing Prentiss on her way back to her desk. He knocked gently on Garcia's door, chewing on his lips.

"Enter and be amazed, mortal!" Garcia called through the door. Reid smiled to himself and opened the door, taking the empty seat by her desk. "What can I do for you, my gorgeous boy wonder?" she asked cheerfully.

"I need to talk to you… Derek thinks I'm cheating on him because he saw me talking to an intern twice today…" Reid said slowly. "He doesn't want to talk to me right now though."

"…Are you cheating on him?" Garcia asked slowly.

"NO!" Reid balked, shaking his head. "I would never do that, Garcia."

"Just asking," Garcia held her hands out to calm him down. "He came in here earlier to talk to me… And I told him he was probably just overreacting. Give him a little time, Reid. He'll listen when he's ready."

"What if he doesn't believe me?"

"He will," Garcia assured him. "He just needs a little time to calm down; he'll listen when he's done freaking out."

"Are you sure?" Reid asked nervously.

"Am I ever wrong?" Garcia asked, smiling encouragingly at him, twirling around to face her babies once more as Reid stood and went back out to the bullpen.

**~/.\~**

William paced back and forth in Spencer's living room, fuming. How could his son be gay? _Gay? _It was simply not possible… He'd done a decent job raising him for those first ten years, hadn't he? …Maybe if he hadn't left, hadn't walked away and left him to be taken care of by his mother he wouldn't be so soft? Maybe he wouldn't be … He could hardly bring himself to think the word.

He tried to sit down, but he couldn't sit still. How could his son be in a relationship with another man? It was disgusting… it was filthy. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't allow it to continue, there was no way he could let his only son be gay. It was just wrong. He couldn't stand the thought of his son and that other man… together in the same bed.

He shuddered at the thought and clenched his fists together, slamming it into the wall, leaving a dent. He pulled his hand back and glared at the mark, wishing that there was something else to hit. He couldn't even think straight at the moment, he was so consumed with the anger and shock at hearing that Spencer was dating another man. It was sickening to him. He couldn't believe it. And not only was he gay but he'd lied to him to try and cover it up. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was being lied to.

He looked toward the door when he heard the lock turning. Spencer walked into the living room, dropping his bag and looking almost depressed. He caught one look at his father's face and frowned. "Dad, what are you still doing here?" he asked. "I thought you would've left by now."

"Not until you explain to me how the _hell _you ended up dating another man…" William snarled, glaring at his son angrily.

"I don't have to explain anything to you," Reid replied shortly. "It's my life, Dad. You don't get to tell me what to do anymore."

William was across the room faster than Reid would've thought possible, slamming his son into the wall behind him. "Don't you dare talk to me like that!" he snapped, holding Reid there by his shoulders. "I am your father!"

"I don't give a damn!" Reid yelled, glaring at him. "You were never a father to me! I don't owe you an explanation and you've used up your chances…"

William slammed his fist into Reid's face, knocking his head to the side. "Don't talk to me like that!" he repeated. "You are still my son and I am your father and I will not allow you to be with another man!"

Reid stared at his father, shaking his head before he'd even finished talking. "I can do whatever I want with my life! You don't have a say in it."

Another fist, slinging his head to the side again. "No son of mine is going to have sex with another man!"

Reid glared at him, feeling blood trickle down his face. His lip was busted. "Don't hit me again." He warned his father, glaring at the man.

William scowled at Spencer and slammed his fist into his stomach, knocking the breath out of him before hitting him in the face again. Reid doubled over for a moment, breathing heavily before straightening up. "I said don't hit me again," he snarled, lifting his fist and hitting his father in the face.

William stumbled backwards, apparently not expecting Spencer to fight back. He recovered after a moment and slammed his knee into Reid's stomach. Reid stumbled backwards and hit the back of the couch, almost falling backwards over it. William grabbed his shirt and swung him around, slamming him into the wall again. "Don't you ever hit me again!" he practically yelled, slamming his fist into Reid's face a fourth time.

Reid's head slammed back into the wall and he winced, his jaw throbbing now.

He lifted his knee, slamming it between his father's legs and shoving the older man backwards, sending him tumbling backwards over the couch. William grunted, fumbling and struggling to his feet while Reid stumbled and ran towards his bedroom. William reached out and grabbed Spencer's ankle, pulling him down to the floor. He hit him roughly in the chest, wincing when Reid kicked out at him again. He grabbed Reid's shoulders and slammed him into the floor. Once. Twice. Three times.

Reid was starting to see stars in his vision, clawing at his father's face, trying to push the man off of him. He really, really wished he'd told his father not to come…

* * *

**E/N: What have I done now…?**

**Uh… sorry…? I don't really know what to say anymore…**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	8. Why Didn't You Just Tell Me?

**A/N: OMG! Over 100 reviews already! You guys rock! Thanks so much for all of your reviews guys! I'm glad you're, uh, enjoying? The story…**

**Sorry for leaving you on that cliffhanger guys! I just had to do it.**

**Also, several of you mentioned that Reid should've shot his dad… While I would love for him to do that, I sort of didn't even think of him pulling his gun while writing that scene. I meant to make it clear that he took his gun off his belt when he got home, it just slipped my mind, so pretend that he did, alright? Sorry about that… (I honestly think I hate William more than any of the unsubs I've written, and I've written some nasty unsubs…)**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild/moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Ch. 8: Why Didn't You Just Tell Me?

Morgan sat on his couch, staring at the picture of him and Reid. The same picture he'd been staring at for the past couple of days, worrying and wondering what was wrong with him. Now he knew that Reid was just on edge because of his father's visit, but there was something else… off. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something was still wrong. Reid was keeping something from him, he just didn't know what. He could honestly kick himself for how he'd reacted to seeing Reid talking to that intern.

He'd talked to Garcia again, before leaving the office and found out that the young woman had only started working there a couple of days earlier. Not only had he been completely wrong, but he hadn't trusted Reid, who was one of the most trustworthy people he knew. He'd had issues with trust in the past, but that was ridiculous, even for him. How could he have honestly questioned Reid's loyalty? Reid would never do something like to him.

He shook his head, feeling like an ass, and glanced at the clock. Reid had said he would call him when he got home. He'd left before Morgan had, but he still hadn't called. Maybe he was in the shower, Morgan reasoned. Or he wasn't ready to talk just yet. That would've made sense, except that Reid had been trying to talk to him all day. He felt that pit gnawing in his stomach twist. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. The same way he knew Reid was keeping something else from him.

He reached for his cell phone instinctively and hit Reid's speed dial number, pressing the phone to his ear. It rang for almost a full minute, and then Reid's voice crackled over the speaker. _"This is Reid; I can't answer the phone right now. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."_

Morgan closed the phone, frowning. It wasn't like Reid not to answer his phone. Maybe he hadn't heard it ring. He dialed Reid's home number, it rang three times before the machine picked it up and he started to get really worried. "Spencer, it's Derek. Where are you? You were supposed to call, remember? I'm starting to get worried… We need to talk, Pretty Boy, please pick up…" He waited a minute and then sighed, hanging up and glancing at the clock again.

He tapped his fingers against the coffee table, his worry growing slowly. Impatience won out eventually and he grabbed his keys, deciding to head over to Reid's apartment and find out what was going on.

**~/.\~**

Reid winced and threw his fist out again with surprising force. William grunted as he fell back and Reid pushed himself onto his feet, starting to run toward the door. William was back on his feet moments later, grabbing his son around the neck and slamming him face first into the wall. Reid felt blood trickle down his forehead and cried out, swinging his head back and into his dad's face.

"AH!" William screamed, something cracking. Blood trickled down William's face from his busted nose. Reid squirmed in his father's hold and elbowed him roughly in the ribs, breaking away and making another run for the door. His hand fumbled on the latch, but William dragged him back by his hair, growling. "Don't run away like a coward, boy." He hissed.

Reid clawed his father's fingers in his hair, "I'm not a child anymore!" he practically screamed. "Let go!"

William ignored his son's yells and swung him around, slamming him onto the couch and sitting on top of him to keep him from getting up again. "No son of mine is going to be a queer!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Reid struggled to get his dad off of him, thrashing underneath the heavier, stronger man. "Get off of me!"

"Not until you tell me that you will end your 'relationship' with Agent Morgan." William said, putting both of his hands tightly around Reid's throat and squeezing.

Reid wheezed, wincing. "No." He shook his head stubbornly. "I love him."

William slammed a fist into Reid's chest, "Stop saying that!" he ordered. "You don't love him. You're just confused, son. You are _not _gay."

Reid glared up at his father, "You're the one who's confused." He snapped. "You seem to think you can tell me what to do. I'm a grown man and you weren't there for me as a child either way. You don't get to control my life!"

William's eyes were half wild, desperate. "You aren't gay. You can't be." He shook his head, clenching his fists tighter around Reid's neck. "…If I hadn't left, if I had just stayed –"

"It wouldn't have made a difference." Reid choked out, feeling slightly lightheaded. His dad was cutting off his air supply. "A person's sexuality is set by around age seven."

"It's not true!" William screamed, shaking his son roughly, fingers tightening around Reid's throat. "You aren't gay!" Reid squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get more air into his lungs. They both looked up, surprised, when the phone started ringing. William stared at the phone with angry eyes, Reid with some small ounce of hope when his dad's grip loosened and he gulped fresh air quickly, thankfully.

When the answering machine picked up, Reid heard Morgan's voice over the phone speaker and desperately called out to his lover in his mind, eyes staring at the phone like it was his only lifeline.

"_Spencer, it's Derek. Where are you? You were supposed to call, remember? I'm starting to get worried… We need to talk, Pretty Boy, please pick up…"_

William scowled when the message ended and threw something at the phone, knocking it off the table it was sitting on and sending it crashing to the ground. "You aren't gay…" he whispered, staring down at Reid with wide, angry, half desperate eyes. "You can't be gay."

Reid breathed heavily, shaking his head and ignoring his father. "Get off of me."

"Say you're not gay! Tell me it's all a lie!"

"No, Dad, it's not. There's nothing you can do to change it, I love Derek and he loves me. We're happy, that's what matters."

William screamed in rage, punching Reid in the face again, his hands pressing into Reid's shoulders, pinning him even more securely to the couch. "Stop saying that! It's not true!"

"Yes it is!" Reid snapped, struggling again to push his dad off of him. "I love him!"

"STOP SAYING THAT!" William yelled, throwing several more rough punches into his son. "It's not true!" He wrapped his hands back around Reid's neck and squeezed, blocking Reid's air supply once again.

Reid clawed at William's hands, gasping for breath. "Dad…" he choked. "…St-stop! Please!" He was losing oxygen and his lungs were burning, his chest tight and constricted. William ignored him, hell bent on beating his son until he admitted that he wasn't gay. William refused to accept that Spencer was gay. It just couldn't be possible.

**~/.\~**

Morgan started to knock on Reid's door when he heard something crash and he frowned, that nagging fear in his gut growing. He twisted the knob, thankful when the door opened and he rushed inside, then stopped dead when he caught sight of what was happening. Reid and William were on the floor, apparently having fallen there. William's hands were tightly clutching his son's neck, cutting off his oxygen.

Reid was bloody and bruised and gasping for breath, struggling to get his father off of him. Morgan didn't take time to think, he just reacted. He was across the room, yanking William Reid off of his boyfriend and throwing the older man into the wall. William looked surprised for a moment, caught off guard. Then he recognized Morgan and screamed something, trashing and kicking Morgan in the shin. The younger man winced and kneed William in the gut while the older man continued to struggle, trying to hit the FBI agent. Morgan didn't give him the chance, punching the older man several times in the face until his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell limply to the ground.

With William unconscious, Morgan rushed to his lover's side. "Spencer?" he asked, gently helping the young man sit up. Reid spluttered, gasping for breath, blood dripping from a gash on his forehead and a busted and already swollen lip. "Spencer, are you alright?"

Reid winced and choked, "D-Derek?" he asked, looking up into Morgan's eyes, relief flooding through him. He leaned into the older agent when he wrapped his arms around him, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

"It's ok… I've got you, Spencer… Just hold on, ok? I'm gonna call an ambulance."

"No!" Reid protested. "I'm fine."

Morgan stared at him, shaking his head, "No you're not, Spencer. You need to see a doctor and I'm calling the cops… Your dad needs to be arrested."

"Derek, please… Just let it go, ok?"

"No, I will not let this go. You are going to the doctor and I'm calling the police."

"…If I go to the doctor can you forget about the cops?" Reid asked, wincing when he sat up. "Please?"

Morgan studied Reid's face carefully, confused. "Why don't you want me to call the police?" he asked slowly.

Reid bit his lip and glanced over at his father. The police, and the team, would ask questions he didn't want to answer. Questions about his father, about his past. About the beatings. Too much was at risk. He couldn't have his father arrested because then everything he'd kept from the team, from Morgan, would come out in the light. "Because… Because…" he stumbled for an explanation.

"Because what?" Morgan pressed.

Reid took a deep breath, staring into Morgan's eyes for a long moment before answering. "Because I don't want them to… to find out…"

"Find out what? That your dad's a bastard?" Morgan frowned, still confuse.

Reid shook his head, "No… To find out that… to know…" he wasn't sure how to tell him… "To realize that this isn't the first time."

"What?" Morgan's eyes got wide with anger. "What do you mean it's not the first time?"

Reid pressed his lips together, "He used to… to beat me when I was younger. Before… before he left, he had an alcohol problem… and he… he got angry easily."

Morgan blinked, speechless for a moment, realizing that this was what Spencer hadn't been telling him. "Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked quietly, holding Reid close to him, careful not to hold him too tight.

"I didn't know how," Reid explained slowly. "I… I wasn't sure how you'd take it… I just…" he fumbled for an explanation. "I don't like to think about it."

Morgan sighed, shaking his head and kissing Reid gently on the temple. "…I won't call the police if you don't want me to," he finally said. "But I'm not gonna let that bastard touch you again." He stood and helped Reid get to his feet, "I'll call an ambulance to check you out…"

Reid nodded slowly, wrapping his arms around his torso tightly, "What about my dad?"

Morgan glanced down at the unconscious man on the floor. Reid had obviously fought back, but William's injuries weren't nearly as bad as Reid's appeared to be. He pressed his lips together, "He'll be fine. With any luck, he'll be gone when we get back… He'd better hope he is."

"Why?" Reid frowned, watching Morgan pulled out his phone, calling 911.

"Because if he's still here I'm gonna have a hard time not beating the hell out of him for what he did to you…"

* * *

**E/N: Hmm… Not so sure 'bout this chapter. Hope it was alright! Let me know!**

**BTW, I'm so NOT finished w/William Reid, don't worry guys. He's not getting off that easy.**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	9. It's Not Important

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your reviews guys! I'm sorry for not being able to update as often as usual! Hope you're still enjoying the story!**

**Good news peeps! I just finished writing "Before the Storm" and if anyone is interested, keep an eye out for my NCIS/Criminal Minds crossover! I'm posting it a few minutes after I update this, it's called "Revenge Fantasy"**

**WARNING: mild/moderate violent; Morgan/Reid slash**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Ch. 9: It's Not Important

Reid sat back against the hospital table, hearing the paper covering crackle underneath him. Morgan sat in a stiff chair, staring at the younger man, getting angry every time he noticed a new bruise on Reid's face. The doctor said his injuries weren't serious, but he'd needed a few stitches on the gash in his forehead and his busted lip. His ribs were bruised too, but nothing was broken and he didn't have a concussion at least.

"Alright, Dr. Reid, I think that's it. You can go home if that's all…." The doctor said, still seeming reluctant to really let them leave. Reid had ignored the doctor's questions about how he'd gotten his bruises. The doctor seemed to think that Derek was responsible, but Reid refused to answer questions and when they'd flashed their badges the doctor had relented and done what he could to help Reid.

"Thank you, Dr. McGuire," Reid said, sliding off of the table and wincing.

"Are you sure there's nothing else?" Morgan asked the doctor worriedly eyeing Reid.

"I'm sure, Agent Morgan. He's fine, he just needs to take it easy for a few days and he'll be good as new. Of course, he'll be sore for a while, especially his chest and he'll need to be back in about four days for us to remove the stitches."

"Alright," Morgan sighed, nodding slowly. "I'll take him home. Spencer, you're sure you're alright?" he frowned at the younger agent, still not totally convinced that he'd done the right thing in not calling the police. He wanted William Reid to pay dearly for what he'd done, but he knew that it could lead to the team finding out about the abuse from Reid's childhood and he understood Reid not wanting anyone else to know about it. If he wasn't ready for them to know, Morgan wasn't going to force him to tell them about it.

"I'm fine, Derek. Just a little banged up. Nothing to worry about, the doctor said so."

Morgan sighed, shaking his head and leading the way back out to the parking lot and his car. He threw wary glances at Reid every few minutes, like he was making sure that Reid was still there. They pulled up out front of Reid's apartment building and Morgan put the car in park, letting the engine idle for a moment. "How are we going to explain this to the team if we aren't going to tell them it was your dad?"

Reid pressed hip lips together, wincing when it pulled slightly at his stitches. "Simple." He said. "I'll take a week or two off… Sick leave."

"Spencer…"

"Look, I've got a lot of sick days I can take, Derek. Besides, according to Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss, JJ, Garcia and you, I'm long overdue for a vacation."

"We all are, Spencer. The question is, do you think they'll buy it? You never take time off, even if you actually are sick. You practically live at work…"

"Well it's the only answer I've got, Derek. You can tell them that you're checking up on me if you want, but if I go to work looking like this they'll know something is wrong and I can't lie to them convincingly enough. Especially not Garcia."

Morgan sighed, "Alright fine. I'll try to convince the team that you're sick… It's not going to be easy to keep Garcia from trying to check up on you." He chewed his lip, still frowning. "I think you should've let me call the cops. I don't like that your dad's just getting away with this, Spencer."

"Derek, please." Reid sounded half desperate. "I can't give the team reasons to start looking into this. I don't want them to know about any of this. My dad is… he's just not a subject I want to talk about with the team."

Morgan sighed, "Alright, Pretty Boy. But you're staying with me until you go back to work, got it."

"Derek –"

"Don't argue, it's not gonna work. We're only here so that you can get some clothes and I can see if your father is still here."

Reid sighed, "Fine. But… Don't do anything stupid, Derek. I know what he did was wrong, but I'd rather just pretend it never happened and let him go back to Vegas and ignoring me like usual."

Morgan sighed, "I'm not making any promises, but I'll try."

The apartment door was unlocked when they reached it and the living room looked like a disaster area. Reid hadn't realized the fight with his father had caused so much damage. The phone was lying on the floor, busted open. There were two dents in the wall where William had slammed Reid's head into it and where William had hit it earlier. The coffee table was turned over on its side and there were two cushions missing from the couch and spots of blood on the carpet and the wall.

William Reid was nowhere in sight. "He must've taken off." Morgan said, frowning. "Smart of him."

Reid scowled, walking into his bedroom to grab some clothes. "Probably the smartest thing he's done since he got here," he muttered.

Morgan watched him, feeling guilty. "…Spencer… About this morning…"

Reid closed his eyes, "Derek, don't worry about it. I understand."

"No, you don't." Morgan said. "I can tell you're angry at me, but you don't want to say anything because you're already angry at your dad. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I know you'd never cheat on me… You'd never do anything to hurt me…"

Reid licked his lips, keeping his eyes closed and breathing slowly. He was angry at Morgan for thinking that he'd do something like that, but not so angry that he wouldn't forgive him. Not so angry that he wanted to discuss right then. "I wouldn't." he said slowly. "And I can't understand how you would ever think that I would."

Morgan sighed, "I guess… You haven't been acting like yourself lately and I was scared of losing you, Spencer." He said. "I love you, Pretty Boy. I don't want you to find someone better and leave me…"

Reid frowned, turning to face his boyfriend, "Derek, I couldn't possibly find someone better than you. I love you more than anyone else in the world, except maybe my mom… You're one of the only people who can make me feel better when I'm scared, when I'm worried, or sick… You understand when I do something incredibly stupid despite how smart I am… You listen to me rambling boring statistics and even act like you're interested sometimes… I couldn't imagine anything that would ever cause me to leave you."

Morgan smiled slightly, shaking his head and wrapping his arms carefully around Reid's waist. "Does that mean you forgive me?" he asked, pressing a kiss lightly to Reid's lips.

"If you forgive me for not telling you about my dad sooner…" Reid said.

Morgan grinned at him, "I love you…" he whispered, holding the thin young man to him.

"I love you too," Reid whispered.

"Promise you'll never leave?" Morgan asked, pulling away and looking into his eyes, feeling anger well in his chest when he saw the bruises.

"Only if you promise the same thing…"

**~/.\~**

Reid woke up the next morning lying next to Morgan. He rolled over, wincing. His muscles were stiff from the beating he'd taken and he knew it was going to be painful to move. Morgan mumbled something and rolled over on his side, propping himself up on his elbow he watched Reid worriedly. "How are you feeling?"

Reid winced again and answered honestly, "Sore."

"I should've called the cops…" Morgan sighed, shaking his head.

"Derek, please."

"Don't worry… I'm not going to, Spencer. I wish you'd let me, but if you don't want me to I won't…"

"Thank you, Derek."

Morgan smiled, "Want any breakfast?"

"I'm not really hungry…" Reid started to say.

"You're eating." Morgan said, tossing back the covers and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Come on, Pretty Boy. I'm not leaving for work until you eat."

Reid sighed and reluctantly climbed out of bed, following Morgan into the kitchen. "You want eggs?" Morgan asked, opening the refrigerator.

Reid made a face, "What about cereal?" he asked.

Morgan sighed, shaking his head as he reached into the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. "You eat too much cereal." He said. "That's probably why you're so hyper…"

"I'm not hyper," Reid protested. "I just happen to like sugar."

"And caffeine." Morgan added.

Reid made a face, "And caffeine." He agreed, pulling out a box of Peanut butter Crunch. "That doesn't mean I'm hyper…"

Morgan sighed, shaking his head, "Sure, Spencer. You keep thinking that."

Reid opened his mouth to retort but they were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Hold on…" Reid hurried into the living room where his phone was lying on the couch and he snatched it up without glancing at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Son…"

Reid swallowed, glancing back toward the kitchen, hearing the sounds of Morgan fixing breakfast. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"To apologize… I shouldn't have… I wasn't right to lose my temper like that. I just… What you're doing with this Morgan guy isn't right, Spencer. It's abnormal and … disgusting. I'm sure there's somewhere you can go to get some sort of help. I'll –"

"Dad, there's nothing wrong with me!" Reid snapped, scowling. "I love Derek and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Now, Spencer, I'm trying to be reasonable."

"No, you're trying to control my life and you can't do that. And in case it wasn't clear after yesterday, I don't want to see you again, ok? You should go back to Las Vegas. I don't want you to be a part of my life."

"Spencer, I'm your father!"

"No you aren't." Reid argued. "As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a father."

"Spencer I won't stand for this!" William shouted into the phone. "I won't allow my son to do something so vile and disgusting! You are going to end this ridiculous relationship with this man or I will."

"You will not." Reid snapped. "You will get your bags, get on a plane and go home. I don't want to see you again." He snapped the phone shut, angry tears in his eyes.

"Who was on the phone?" Morgan asked from the doorway.

Reid scrubbed at his eyes, "My dad," he said, his voice breaking.

Morgan scowled, "What did he say?"

"It's not important." Reid insisted. "Just forget about him, Derek. I don't want to think about him or anything that he's done."

Morgan watched Reid's face, seeing the anger and hurt flashing in his eyes. He nodded slowly, "Alright." He said. "Breakfast is ready. I fixed you a bowl of cereal."

Reid nodded and followed the older man back into the kitchen, trying to stamp down the feelings of betrayal and anger coursing through his veins. He would not let his father get to him again. No matter what the man said or did, he wasn't going to let it affect him in any way. He wasn't worth the time or hurt feelings.

* * *

**E/N: Anyone else feel like there something big brewing here? Hmm… I wonder what William's gonna do… he's too stubborn and too stupid to go home like Reid told him to…**

**(BTW, I highly doubt Reid will actually be able to keep this from the team, they are profilers and if William does what I'm planning he's gonna do… they'll end up knowing before the fic is over…)**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

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	10. Just Take Care of Yourself

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your amazing reviews! The response to this story has been uber amazing! :) Once again, I'm super sorry for the delay in updating! Thank you so much for your patience!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; Mild/Moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

Ch. 10: Just Take Care of Yourself

William paced back and forth in the hotel room he had moved to the night before after the fight with Spencer. His mind had been set on a whirling pace ever since he'd learned about Reid's relationship with Agent Morgan. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but he was going to put an end to it before he went back to Vegas. There had to be a way to make his son understand that what he was doing was wrong. He had to convince Spencer that he had made a mistake, but how?

He glanced at the clock, chewing on his lip. It was nearly eleven o'clock in the morning, meaning Spencer would be at work by now. He wondered if he should go by his office again and try to talk to him. He quickly disregarded that idea; Reid would just have him kicked out. He was so stubborn sometimes it was infuriating.

William licked his lips and sat down on the edge of the bed, tapping his fingers restlessly against his arm. His other fist clenched tightly and he shut his eyes. He tried to think of the best way to get Spencer to end his relationship, but his son seemed too adamant to remain with his… _boyfriend_. He shuddered at the thought of the word. He had to think of something. What was the best way to get Spencer and Agent Morgan separated?

An idea suddenly occurred to him and his eyes shot open, a tiny, malicious smile forming on his face. He stood up and walked over to the hotel window, glancing out at the street below. He caught site of a small shop he'd noticed earlier the night before. He slid his shoes and coat on and rushed out of the room, nearly forgetting to fix his lopsided tie until he got into the elevator.

**~/.\~**

Morgan sighed, flipping the file in front of him closed. He glanced over at Reid's empty desk and felt another twinge of guilt. He reached toward his cell phone, about to call Reid when Prentiss walked up to him, "So, what's going on with Reid?" she asked, leaning against the side of her own desk.

Morgan snapped his phone closed and sat it back down on the desk, "Nothing, he's just sick. I told you already."

"Yeah, but we're talking about Reid, Morgan. He called Hotch this morning and said he was sick… That's not like him, Derek."

"He's sick, Prentiss." Morgan insisted. "It's not like he has a reason to lie about it."

"He's not…" Prentiss trailed off, biting her lip. She knew it was a sensitive subject, but she was worried about her young friend. She'd noticed a change in Reid's behavior lately and the run in with his father the day before seemed to have shaken him up badly.

Morgan pressed his lips together, "No, he's not." He assured her.

"Well, he's not sick. Not only does Reid not get sick, he'd come to work even if he had a debilitating disease. It's just how he is."

"He is sick." Morgan insisted. He glanced around and leaned forward, "And he's staying home because he could barely walk this morning and I forced him to stay."

Prentiss scrutinized his face, "Well…" she frowned. "I still think there's something wrong. Hotch does too. I think he and Rossi might be catching on; you and Reid have been spending a lot of time together lately and you've been more… touchy-feely."

Morgan scowled, "Thanks for the heads up, Emily, but I think we're fine."

She frowned, "So you're not going to tell them and there's nothing wrong Reid? Nothing we should know about?"

"No."

She narrowed her eyes, "You're hiding something." She concluded, sitting down at her desk. "I don't know what, but there's something you aren't telling us."

Morgan sighed, "Think whatever you want." He said. "There's nothing wrong."

She snorted and turned back to her paperwork. Morgan watched her and felt bad for lying to her. He had always felt uneasy about lying to the team after what had happened with Carl Buford and he tried not to as often as possible, but sometimes it was necessary. He glanced over at the clock and heard his stomach growl. "I'm gonna go get some lunch," he announced. "Do you want anything?"

Prentiss looked up, shrugging. "If you don't mind. You know what I like…"

Morgan flashed a grin, "I know… It's scary how well you can get to know people when you work with them for so long."

**~/.\~**

William walked out of the store, clutching his new purchase tightly in his hands, which were balled into tight fists in the pockets of his overcoat. He walked briskly down the narrow street and looked around for a place to eat, hunger nagging at him. He noticed a small Chinese restaurant on a corner, just a few blocks away from where his son worked. He pushed through the Plexiglas doors, the smell of the food wafting in on him.

He approached the counter, but stopped dead. Agent Morgan was standing at the counter, talking on his cell phone to someone. He blinked, not believing his luck. There was just no way that his luck was really that good… His fingers tightened in his pocket and he slowly backed toward the exit, biting his lip.

All he had to do was be patient and this would work out perfectly. He pushed his way back out of the door and stood on the street outside, staring in through the window. As soon as Agent Morgan left he put his plan into action…

**~/.\~**

Morgan smiled at the man behind the counter when he handed him his order. "Thanks," he said, taking the bags in his hands. "So you're sure that everything's alright?" he asked, talking into the speaker of his cell phone.

"_Everything's fine, Derek, I promise. I'm having a completely safe day, sitting on the couch watching the Discovery Channel…" _Reid promised him.

"You're not doing anything too strenuous?"

He could hear Reid sigh over the line. _"I did take a slightly perilous trip to the bathroom. Nearly drowned myself in the toilet…" _He said sarcastically. _"Derek, you're worrying too much. I'm fine. The doctor told you that none of my injuries were permanent, or even serious. The stitches are coming out in a few days and I'll be back to work as soon as the bruises aren't noticeable."_

Morgan frowned, "Fine, just take care of yourself," he said, pushing the door open on the store front. "I don't want you to get hurt doing something stupid… I still wish you'd let me call the police."

"_Derek…"_

"Don't worry, I'm not going to." Morgan promise. "I just want to." He squinted his eyes against a sudden breeze that chilled him to the bone and yanked his coat tighter. "I'll see you tonight, ok?" Before Reid could reply he heard someone else call out his name, an angry bitter edge to the voice.

"Agent Morgan!"

He turned to see who had called his name and his eyes widened at the sight of William Reid holding a gun, standing just a few yards away from him. He reached automatically for his gun, dropping his bags. The bustle of the street was pierced by the sound of a gun being fired and a yell of what could've been pain or rage…

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**E/N: A bit shorter than usual, but still over 1,000 words. What do y'all think? Hmm… William seems to have become an unsub… Kinda glad that happened though, considering that I hate him with a fiery passion…**

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	11. Who Did This To You?

**A/N: Another huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! It really means a lot to me guys! Sorry for leaving you hanging like that, but I just… had to. Lame excuse, I know… Hopefully you'll forgive me by the time the story's over :) **

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; Mild/Moderate violence… My hatred of William Reid is showing, isn't it?**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

Ch. 11: Who Did This To You?

Morgan's hand was resting on the butt of his gun when the shot rang out and he tried to dodge out of the way as the bullet careened toward him, but he wasn't quite fast enough. His bellow of pain was nearly inhuman and people had begun to scream and run at the sound of the gun going off, but Morgan couldn't pause to think about the damage the bullet had done. He ripped his own gun from its holster and took off after William Reid as he ran away from the scene.

He watched the graying hair shoot around a corner, surprisingly fast for someone his age, and he sped up, ignoring the blood that was now running down his arms and between the fingers of his left hand. His gun was tight in his right hand and he lifted it when William was in his line of sight again. He pulled the trigger and smiled when he heard William scream as the bullet grazed him in the side, but he kept running and Morgan fired again, this time hitting him in the back.

"AHH!" William screamed and stumbled, crumpling to the ground gracelessly. Morgan caught up to him, blood loss and lack of oxygen from the chase leaving him lightheaded. Breathing heavily, he kicked the gun away from William's loosely grasping fingers and doubled over, wincing. He patted his pockets for his cell phone before realizing that he'd dropped it when he was outside of the restaurant… "Damn it," he swore under his breath and locked eyes with the quickly fading William Reid.

"Do you have a cell phone?" he demanded.

William's only response was to muster up as much energy as he could and spit at Morgan's shoes. Morgan scowled, "I can't call an ambulance for you if I don't have a phone, you bastard." He snarled.

William continued to glare at Morgan for a moment longer before closing his eyes. He was losing blood fast and it was clear to Morgan that he was in serious danger. He couldn't tell if the shot had gone all the way through, but the likelihood of the bullet hitting major organs was high and if William didn't get to a hospital soon he would certainly die. Morgan might've hated the man, but he'd at least like to say that he wasn't so cold hearted that he didn't try to get the bastard some kind of help.

He fell to his knees, spots rising in his vision and dug around William's pockets, ignoring the man's feeble attempts to shake him off, until he found a cell phone. He quickly dialed 911 and informed the dispatcher of what had happened and where they were. The man on the other end of the line promised that an ambulance would be there soon. Morgan snapped the phone shut and leaned against the brick wall of the building that lined one side of the alley. He closed his eyes and let his mind wonder, thinking about how exactly he was supposed to explain this without having to explain what William had done to Reid earlier. Or how he was supposed to keep his and Reid's relationship a secret from them after this…

Back outside of the restaurant, Morgan's own cell phone was lying on the ground, cracked but still working. A thin, worried voice had only moments before stopped shouting into the receiver, begging Derek to explain what had happened and what was going on.

**~/.\~**

Reid heard the gun shot over the phone and then someone screamed, but he wasn't sure who. Then there were more people screaming and a loud scraping noise. "Derek!" he yelled into the phone, "Derek where are you? What happened? Are you ok? Derek!" his voice broke slightly as he kept screaming. What had just happened? He felt panic rising inside of him and he wasn't sure what to do. His mind went completely blank and his whole body felt numb as he considered the idea that something had happened to Morgan.

Impossible. He couldn't believe that anything would happen to Morgan. But if nothing had happened, why wasn't he answering? Reid took a shaky breath and ended the call, staring at the glowing screen for a long minute before dialing Prentiss.

"_Hello?" _Prentiss answered absently, probably doing paperwork.

"I think Derek's in trouble!" Reid's voice cracked as he spoke and he cleared his throat, taking a deep breath and attempting yet again to steady his nerves.

"_Reid?"_ Prentiss sounded confused. _"What are you talking about?"_

"I was just talking to him on the phone while he was getting lunch and… and then there was a loud noise, I think it was a gun and people were screaming and Derek wasn't talking! I think he's in trouble! You have to send someone out there now!"

"_Ok, ok, calm down, Reid. We'll –"_

"Don't tell me to calm down, Emily!" Reid snapped. "Just do something!" He chewed his lip and ran to the key ring by the door, scanning the keys and pulling the one to his VW off the hooks. He was hardly hearing a word Prentiss was saying anymore.

"_-go check and make sure everything's alright, ok? I'll call as soon as I find out. Try calling him again."_

"He won't answer," Reid insisted. "I'm going to drive down there and see for myself. He was at the Chinese place right down the street from the BAU, wasn't he?"

"_Yes, but Reid you're sick. You should be –"_

"I'm fine!" Reid snapped again, already out in the parking lot, sliding into the driver's seat of his car. "And if Morgan's hurt I'm not just going to sit here and wait for a phone call."

Prentiss sighed heavily, _"Just let me talk to Hotch, alright? We'll see what's wrong. You should stay put."_

"I'm not sitting around, Prentiss." Reid shook his head, wincing slightly as he chewed his lip again, pulling at the stitches. If he wasn't more careful he was going to end up pulling them out. "I'll just meet you there, ok?"

"_Fine."_ Prentiss finally acquiesced. _"But if you're sick and Morgan finds out that I didn't stop you, he's going to kill us both and I'm gonna hold you personally responsible."_

Reid sighed, "You'll be fine, Prentiss. Besides, if I'm right… he's in serious trouble."

"_I'm getting Hotch now," _Prentiss assured him. _"Just… Just be careful, ok Reid?"_

**~/.\~**

Prentiss hung up, shaken by how terrified Reid sounded. Something was definitely wrong. She knocked on the door to Hotch's office and didn't wait for his gruff 'Come in,' before entering. He looked up, surprised, when she walked in and stood in front of his desk.

"Prentiss is there something –"

"Reid thinks Morgan's in trouble." She said quickly, her eyes locked on Hotch's, wide and desperate.

"Reid's not here…" Hotch frowned.

"I know… Morgan went out to get lunch and he and Reid were talking on the phone –"

"They were?" Hotch raised a brow, seeming interested by this bit of information.

"Yes, and Reid said that when Morgan was leaving, he heard a gunshot and people started screaming and Morgan must've dropped the phone or something because after that, he didn't answer Reid. He thinks something happened and… I can't help but agree."

Hotch pursed his lips, "Get Rossi and JJ, we'll go see what's wrong. Try calling Morgan again too, maybe he'll answer."

Prentiss nodded, noticing Hotch slide his gun into his belt and grab the keys to one of the SUVs before she hurried out of his office and down to Rossi's.

**~/.\~**

When they turned onto the street to get to the restaurant, they found their path blocked by ambulances and a squad car. Hotch pulled off to the side and they all quickly climbed out, flashing their badges. "What's going on?" Hotch asked an officer who was standing close by.

"That man on the gurney there ambushed an FBI agent outside of the Chinese restaurant down the street and shot him in the shoulder. The agent chased him down and shot him… There are plenty of witnesses to verify the story. We're just trying to figure out why… 'course, it'd be better if the assailant were conscious."

Prentiss was staring at the man, lying face up on a gurney with paramedics working earnestly around him and gasped, looking to Hotch with wide eyes, "That's Reid's dad…" she said quietly.

Hotch blinked, staring at the man too. Turning back to the officer he asked, "Where's the agent that was shot?"

"This way," The officer led them to the other ambulance where they found Morgan, sitting up on a gurney, with a blood soaked bandage on his arm, arguing with the paramedics.

"I need to make a phone call, please." He insisted.

"Sir, you need to lie back. We've got to get you to the hospital. We'll call your next of kin once we arrive, please. You've lost a lot of blood."

"Morgan," Hotch called, pushing past the medics who tried to keep them back. "What happened?"

Morgan looked up, surprised. "Hotch… I… Um…"

"Was that William Reid?" Rossi asked, frowning. "What's he doing here?"

Morgan swallowed, "How should I know… He shot me… I…"

"Why did he shoot you?"

"Sir, please, you can talk to your friend later. We've got to get him to the hospital. He needs surgery. The bullet is still lodged in his shoulder and he's already lost a lot of blood."

Hotch frowned, biting his lip, but JJ put a hand on his arm and shook her head. "He's hurt, Hotch." She said. "We should let the paramedics work; we'll find out what happened later."

Hotch sighed and he, Rossi, Prentiss and JJ moved away from the ambulance, waving goodbye to Morgan, and stood back as the vehicles drove away, sirens blaring. Prentiss pulled out her phone and was calling Garcia to let her know what had happened and just as they were about to get back into the SUV to go to hospital, Reid's rickety VW pulled onto the street and they all stared in horrified silence as the young agent got out of the car, rushing over to Prentiss.

"What happened? Were those ambulances coming from here? Is he ok?" His brown eyes, one horribly swollen and purple, were full of terror and fear. He seemed completely oblivious to the team's gaping expressions.

Prentiss swallowed, "M-Morgan's gonna be ok." She assured him, not quite able to look away from the ugly stitches marring Reid's face. "He was shot… in the shoulder… Your dad –"

Reid's eyes widened, "What?" He looked … pissed was the only way to describe it. It was a look none of the agents had seen the young man wear before. "My dad did this?"

Prentiss licked her lips, "Yeah… they're both on their way to hospital; Morgan managed to shoot him."

Reid looked worried. He absently bit his lip and winced when it pulled at the stitches there. "Reid…" JJ looked terrified. "What… what happened to you?"

Reid blinked and stared at JJ for a long moment like he wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. Then his hand slowly went to touch one of the bruises on his forehead and he swallowed hard, "Nothing…" he said slowly.

"Reid… that's not nothing." Prentiss said, her dark eyes sweeping over his bruised face, catching sight of more bruises on his neck that looked like fingerprints.

"I'm fine…"

"Who did this to you, kid?" Rossi demanded. He too looked like someone had just slapped him. He'd seen Reid in a lot of bad situations, but this was something he'd never seen before. Reid looked like Hell…

Reid chose not to respond at all to Rossi's questions. "Shouldn't we be going to see Morgan?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. "To make sure he's ok?"

"He'll be in surgery for a while," Hotch said. "Right now I want to know what happened to you, Reid. Is this why you called in sick this morning?"

Reid looked sick now, that was for sure. He was sweating and extremely pale. "I… The… Hotch, you don't understand. It's not that important. Morgan was shot, I've just got a few bruises alright?"

"What happened?" Hotch pressed.

"Nothing." Reid insisted.

"Reid," JJ shook her head. "Tell us, please. Who did this to you?"

Reid stared around at the team, swallowing hard. How was he supposed to tell them the truth? What would they think if he did…? But… How was he supposed to lie to them? His mind spun as he tried to come up with an answer…

* * *

**E/N: Uh oh… things aren't looking so great for Reid… or Morgan… or William, but I don't care about him…**

**What do you peoples think?**

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	12. I'm Not A 'Damsel In Distress'

**A/N: Thanks, once again, for all of your wonderful reviews guys! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! I know I've got a bad habit of leaving you guys before something really big happens… but I just can't help it. I've got a problem…**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; Mild/Moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW! You know you want to…**

* * *

Ch. 12: I'm Not a 'Damsel In Distress'

"Who did this to you?" JJ asked, staring intently at Reid. The rest of the team was giving him the same look. He knew there was no getting around an explanation… But how was he supposed to explain without telling the truth? He bit his lip, "I…" he frowned, "I told you it's not important…"

Prentiss frowned, studying his face for a minute, "Reid, tell us. Whoever did it…" She trailed off, but it was obvious that there was no love lost between her and whoever dared to hurt her friend. "Just tell us."

Reid didn't really know what to say, but lying was almost definitely out of the question. The real problem was deciding how much to tell them. Should he tell them about him and Morgan and what had set off the whole attack in the first place? He didn't want to do that without talking to Morgan first… But he doubted the team would give him that much time to give them an answer. He looked down at his hands and realized they were shaking. He took a deep breath and looked back up at the team, meeting each of their eyes for a moment.

"My dad…" he said quietly, looking away the second he said it, not sure how they were going to take it.

"Your _dad?_" Prentiss gaped at him, fury blazing in her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

Hotch frowned, scrutinizing Reid's face, determining whether or not Reid was being honest. "Why would he do that? Why would he do this?"

Reid swallowed hard, closing his eyes. "…He… He came here trying to … to make amends, I suppose." He said slowly. "I thought… maybe if I gave him a chance he would be better than he was when I was growing up…" he paused. "When I was younger… You all know he wasn't the greatest dad, of course, but…"

He trailed off, the words getting caught in his throat.

"But what?" Rossi asked, frowning at the young man.

"But… But there are things I never told you about him…" he said slowly.

"Things like what?" JJ asked quietly, watching Reid's face with a look of sadness in her eyes, which were about to brim over with tears.

"…He was an alcoholic…" Reid started slowly. "And… he's got a bad temper. He used to come home drunk late at night and … and…" he swallowed. "This isn't the first time he's ever left bruises on me…"

The team looked shocked, staring at their young friend. They'd all known that his life hadn't been perfect by any account, but to realize that he'd had to live with a father who was abusive for the first ten years of his life made everything even worse. "Why didn't you tell us before?" Prentiss asked.

Reid shrugged, "I don't like to talk about it," he said slowly. "The memories aren't exactly happen ones and… Well, I figured after my dad walked away, he walked out of my life too. I never expected to see him again, why bring it up?"

Hotch pressed his lips together, fire blazing in his dark eyes. "…Why did he hurt you this time?"

Reid didn't meet any of their eyes when he replied. "I don't know. I never knew. He would get angry and start hitting me. He didn't like that I was… different from the other boys at school. He wanted me to be normal and… I'm just not."

Prentiss gave him a sympathetic smile, rage shining in her eyes.

"Why would he attack Morgan?" Hotch asked, his brows scrunching together.

Reid cleared his throat, keeping his story as close to the truth as possible without actually coming out and telling the team that he and Morgan were together. "… Morgan tried to call me last night and when I didn't answer he came by to check on me and found me and my dad… And he pulled my dad off of me and took me to the hospital. When we got back, my dad was gone. I convinced him not to call the cops…"

His voice broke, "I…. I didn't want to have to explain to anyone…" he nearly sobbed. "I thought… I hoped that Dad would just go back to Vegas. I never would've guessed that he would… would…"

JJ gently squeezed Reid's arm, "It's not your fault, Spence." She promised him. "Don't blame yourself for this."

"But if I'd let him call the police…"

"It doesn't matter," Rossi interrupted him. "You didn't shoot him and you can't go back and change it now anyway."

Reid didn't look convinced, but he nodded slowly anyway. "We should get to the hospital…" Prentiss said slowly, "Garcia said she's on her way there."

**~/.\~**

The hospital was practically empty when they arrived. Morgan and William were both in surgery and the team was left to wait in the waiting room. Reid didn't sit down; instead he paced back and forth for several minutes, oblivious to the keen eyes of Hotch and Rossi staring at him. He knew they were getting suspicious about something, but the odds of them putting together the truth were minimal unless they actually saw him and Morgan together… JJ seemed too shocked to really notice anything. One of her best friends was shot, by the father of her other best friend, who turns up covered in bruises from a beating his abusive father gave him…

Garcia nearly had a heart attack when she showed up and spotted Reid. "What happened to you?" she demanded. "Who did this? Where are they?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Who hurt my baby?"

Reid had swallowed hard and stumbled through the same explanation he'd given the rest of the team and then, after much ranting and anger from Garcia after she learned the truth, he'd quickly excused himself and hurried to the cafeteria to get coffee. He poured his foam cup full of the dark liquid and added several small packets of sugar.

"You know that stuff is bad for you," a voice behind him noted quietly. He turned to see Prentiss standing there, watching him with narrowed, curious eyes.

"Prentiss? Did something happen?" he asked, worried. "Is Derek ok?"

"Morgan's still in surgery." Prentiss said. "I came to talk to you…"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. Reid, your dad… he attacked you and then shot your boyfriend." She said, glancing around to make sure that no one was listening. "You aren't ok, and I don't expect you to be… But I want to know what really happened."

Reid frowned, "What are you talking about? I told you what happened?"

"What's the real reason that your dad attacked you?" Prentiss asked.

"I told you," Reid said. "He wanted me to be normal and I'm not. What else is there?"

"What wasn't normal about you?" she asked, tilting her head, studying his face.

Reid licked his lips, looking away for a moment. "…He found out about me and Morgan…" he said slowly.

Prentiss sighed, shaking her head. "And he didn't take it well."

Reid snorted, that angry fire blazing up in his eyes again. "No, he didn't take it well at all. He said his only son couldn't be gay… He basically tried to beat me into being straight."

Prentiss scowled, "I'm sorry…" she said, looking genuinely sad.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault my dad's like that. He's been this way since I was a kid… I can't really say I didn't expect anything less…" he paused, thinking about it for a moment. "At least he wasn't drunk this time."

Prentiss smiled, but there wasn't any humor in it. "I don't know… He'd have to be pretty wasted to take a shot at an FBI agent…"

**~/.\~**

The two and a half hours that Morgan was in surgery seemed to be the longest two and a half hours of Reid's life. When the doctor finally came out of the OR and told them that the damage had been mostly tissue damage, but that Morgan would still have to go through some physical therapy to regain total control of his arm, Reid couldn't help by let out a long held sigh of relief. He was alive and he was going to be ok. That was all that really mattered at the moment. "Can we see him?" Reid asked, his voice cracking. This time he did notice the strange look from Hotch and Rossi. He quickly glanced away, not daring to make eye contact. If there was one thing he didn't want, it was for his boss to put two and two together any time soon.

"The anesthesia is just wearing off, he'll be a little out of it, but you can see him. One at a time, please… and no questions about what happened. He's still not entirely lucid and he was in shock when he arrived." The doctor cautioned them.

The team glanced around at one another, trying to decide who should go see Morgan first. "Reid, why don't you go first?" Prentiss suggested. Hotch frowned at her, his eyes narrowing again, but he nodded.

Reid licked his lips, nodding slowly. "Alright…" he said quietly, praying that Hotch and Rossi weren't reading too much into any of this. How was he supposed to explain it if they started asking questions? The doctor nodded, "Follow me," he said, leading Reid down the hall to Morgan's room.

It was quiet in the room, the only sound coming from the steady beeping of the heart monitor and Morgan's slow breathing. He was propped up on the bed by a stack of white pillows and he smiled when he saw Reid. "Hey, Pretty Boy." He said tiredly. The doctor ducked out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. "What are you doing here?"

Reid smiled, taking one of the seats by the bed and reaching up to take Morgan's uninjured right hand. "You're here," Reid said simply. "Where else would I be?"

"What about the team? I thought you didn't want them to know about your dad?"

"I didn't, but it's not like I can hide it now," Reid shrugged. "Besides, you're more important."

Morgan smiled, squeezing Reid's hand gently, "Did you tell them about us?"

Reid shook his head, "No… I…. I didn't want to tell them anything without talking to you first."

Morgan thought about it, "I'm not sure I want to tell them just yet," he said finally. "But… if your dad tells them first…"

Reid made a face, "Let's not talk about him right now," he said. Morgan sighed, shaking his head slightly. He noticed Reid's eyes staring at the bandage and sling that were tight around his left shoulder and tried to shrug. "It's nothing…" he assured the younger man. "I'm fine."

Reid's lips turned up in the ghost of a smile, "I was just thinking… This is new…"

"What's new?" Morgan frowned, looking confused.

"You're in a hospital bed and I'm sitting by your side… Usually, I'm the one in the hospital."

Morgan smiled, shaking his head at his lover, "Don't expect this to be a normal thing." He warned him. "As soon as I get out of here we're going right back to our normal routine where you're the damsel in distress and I'm the daring hero."

Reid made a face, smiling. "I'm not a 'damsel in distress'." He said.

Morgan smiled, shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure you qualify," he teased.

Reid rolled his eyes, licking his lips. "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked, still eyeing his shoulder.

"I've seen worse," Morgan assured him. "Besides… This means you get to stay with me and take care of me." He grinned.

"Yeah, that won't be too hard to explain to Hotch," Reid muttered, smiling at him.

The door opened and Reid quickly released Morgan's hand, sitting back in the chair. A doctor stood there, a look of… distress on his face. "Doctor Reid?" he asked, glancing to Reid. Reid nodded, standing up, "That's me."

"Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Reid glanced at Morgan, who nodded, "It's alright, go." He said, smiling.

Reid sighed and followed the doctor out into the hall. "What's going on?" he asked, feeling nervous.

"I… Your father was shot twice," he said slowly.

Reid's face fell. Oh, right… his father. Of course. "The first shot just grazed him… But the second… It went straight through his abdominal cavity. It… it perforated his liver… We did everything we could for him, but… he… he didn't make it."

Reid blinked, a strange feeling of icy numbness settling in his veins. His dad was dead… He wasn't… sad, exactly. But somehow he'd never really expected that his dad would ever die… He'd never expected for his death to affect him either. "He's dead?" he asked, his voice cracking. "You're… you're sure?"

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**E/N: I feel a strange sense of gratification from this chapter… don't know why… I actually feel pretty good about it though. Let me know what you think, peeps!**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	13. I Do Trust You, You Know

**A/N: A thousand thanks for all of your reviews guys! I can't believe there're already more than 200! You guys are amazing, I never expected that sort of response! I'm glad you're all enjoying it.**

**And to those of you who asked, it's definitely not a bad thing that you're happy William is dead. Even though I never actually planned on him dying (it sort of happened w/o my permission, Morgan wanted to do it…) I was thrilled when he died too XD**

**And… yeah, I let Morgan kill most of my bad guys. In fact, I think every unsub I've killed was killed by Morgan except for the unsub in "Vengeance is Sweet" (he was killed by Hotch) and the unsub in "From the Shadows" (everyone except Prentiss and Reid shot that unsub…)**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; Mild/Moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Ch. 13: I Do Trust You, You Know

When Reid returned to Morgan's room his eyes were hollow, his face pale, and he moved robotically. "Spencer, what's wrong?" Morgan asked, frowning at him with worry in his eyes.

The younger man licked his lips, sitting down numbly before replying. "… My dad… He didn't make it."

Morgan's face fell, "Reid… I…" he stuttered. "I'm sorry…"

Reid looked into Morgan's eyes, shaking his head. "It's not your fault, Derek." He assured him. "He tried to kill you… You didn't do anything wrong."

Morgan studied Reid's face, knowing that despite the rocky, unfriendly relationship Reid had with his father, he was feeling the shock of his death. It was never easy to lose a parent, even one who had abused and abandoned you. William Reid was the only father Reid had ever known. Some might argue that Gideon had acted as a surrogate father, but he'd abandoned Reid the same way William had, though, possibly, for better reasons.

"I'll be ok," Reid answered Morgan's unasked question. "I just… need some time to… to take in everything that's happened."

Morgan nodded, "I understand," he said quietly.

"I mean… It's not like he was ever really my father," Reid continued as if he hadn't heard him. Morgan just nodded patiently, sympathetically. "Even for the ten years he was there… if he wasn't drunk and hitting me, he was telling me exactly what was wrong with me…"

He paused, his eyes not quite focusing on anything. "I doubt I'll miss him," he said. "What could I miss anyway? He wasn't around for me to miss." His voice cracked and there were tears in his eyes. He met Morgan's stare again, "But… if he wasn't ever really a dad to me… why does it feel… empty?"

Morgan sighed, "He was still your father, Spencer. Like it or not, without him you wouldn't exist. Without him, you might not be the man you are. Some part of you wanted him to be a dad, to be the man he said he was going to be, even though you knew he never would. But… now he's gone and there's no hope of him ever being a real dad to you. That's what you're missing. Not him, just the hope that he could be a better person, a better father."

Reid felt tears stinging his eyes, a strange feeling of hollowness and completeness inside of him. He swallowed hard, "Maybe you're right." he agreed. He took a deep breath, "I really thought that this time he'd be different."

"It's not your fault he wasn't," Morgan promised him. "He made his choices and there's nothing you could've done to change him. He had to want to be better. He obviously didn't care enough to do that."

Reid nodded, reaching up and squeezing his lover's hand, smiling sadly at him. "I think the rest of the team wants to see you," he said after a minute.

Morgan sighed, "I guess I can live without for a little while."

Reid rolled his eyes, "Could you act like an adult, just for five minutes, Derek?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Morgan grinned, sitting up to meet Reid when he leaned down and kissed him gently.

"I'll send someone else in," Reid promised him.

"Hey, Spencer?" Morgan called when Reid was at the door. "Don't forget that as soon as I'm released, you're staying with me."

Reid smiled, shaking his head. "I won't," he promised. "I never forget anything, remember?"

**~/.\~**

"Have you noticed them acting strange lately?" Hotch asked, frowning toward the hall the doctor had lead Reid down.

Rossi followed Hotch's stare, "You mean Reid and Morgan?" he asked. "Yeah," he nodded. "Why?"

"I don't know… I just get this feeling they're keeping something from us."

Rossi's lips quirked up in a smile, "Hotch we're all keeping stuff from each other. What could they be hiding that's so wrong?"

Hotch frowned, "Reid lied to us about his father, he lied to us about being sick. And Morgan helped him. Something's going on."

"Definitely," Rossi agreed. "They've been acting different for a few months now. But whatever it is, it's their business. Sometimes, secrets are healthy."

Hotch glanced at the older man, "You're not curious?"

"Sure I am." Rossi nodded. "But it's not my job to know everything about them. And short of following them around, I doubt I'll find out without them telling us. And that seems unlikely right now." He paused… "Though I do have some theories."

"So do I," Hotch sounded grim, his eyes dark. "And the one that keeps coming back up isn't a good one."

Rossi frowned, "What could be so bad?" he asked. "I think…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "Never mind…"

Hotch turned to face Rossi fully, "What?" he asked.

Rossi glanced toward the hall again. "It's unlikely, but… You've noticed they spend a lot of time together? They even go to the break room together… And Morgan… well, he's usually unaware of personal boundaries when it comes to Reid, but lately he's been even more… touchy. And Reid hasn't got that same half terrified look he usually has when someone gets too close for comfort anymore."

Hotch frowned, "What are you thinking?" he asked.

Rossi shrugged, "They could be… a couple." he said slowly.

Hotch blinked, "You mean, they could be dating?" he thought about it for a moment. "It's possible…" he agreed slowly. "Better than what I was thinking."

"What were you thinking?"

"Reid's been… acting strange for these last two weeks. He and Morgan had a fight at work last week, and Reid's been… more on edge lately."

"So?" Rossi frowned.

Hotch pressed his lips together, "Do you remember when we told you about that case in Georgia from a few years ago?"

Rossi nodded, "The… Hankel case, right?"

"That's the one," Hotch nodded. He sighed, "After we rescued him… Reid wasn't himself. It didn't really take long for us to guess what was wrong, but we all pretty much hoped he'd find a way to handle it without us having to report him. Gideon talked to him and it seemed to work… But, even though Reid never actually told us what was wrong, we all knew. We just never said anything.

"The first few months after Gideon left were hard on Reid. We all watched him, to make sure he was alright… We didn't want him to slip. And… Well, there were bumps in the road, but Morgan always seemed to be the one he trusted, so I asked him to talk to Reid. He did and it didn't take long for Reid to be back to himself again…"

Hotch paused. "He's been fine for years now, but the last time he acted the way he's been these last few weeks was… when he was using."

Rossi blinked, "Using? You mean…" he trailed off, frowning. "Reid's an addict?"

Hotch sighed, shaking his head. "Don't tell him I told you." he said. "He's never actually said anything to the team, but he knows we know. He's been clean for years as far as I know." he shook his head. "But I'm worried he might've slipped again."

"Let's hope you're wrong," Rossi said. "I'd hate to see what that does to the kid."

Hotch nodded, looking worried. He started to say something else when Reid walked into the waiting room. JJ, Prentiss and Garcia surrounded him instantly. "How is he?" Garcia asked, her eyes fixed on Reid intently.

"He's alright. One of you can go see him if you want. He's in room 3A, it's down the hall on the right." His voice sounded hollow.

"Reid, what's wrong?" JJ asked, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Reid looked at her and took a deep breath. "The doctor talked to me." he said. "…My dad… he died."

They all looked stricken. "Oh, Reid…" Garcia hugged him. "It's ok."

He smiled, hugging her back. "I know, Garcia." he said, gently disentangling himself from her embrace. He looked around at the rest of the team and licked his lips nervously, "I'm gonna go get some coffee."

They looked around at each other for a moment. "Garcia," Prentiss put a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Why don't you go see Morgan?"

She nodded, "Alright…" she turned to go and then turned back, "Watch my baby, ok?" she sounded a little bit desperate, but Prentiss smiled and nodded. "We will."

Hotch watched Garcia go and frowned, "I'll be back," he said, heading off toward the cafeteria. Rossi stared after him and Prentiss felt a knot twist in her stomach. She knew Hotch suspected something and she wasn't sure how much longer Reid and Morgan would be able to keep their relationship a secret.

**~/.\~**

When Hotch arrived in the cafeteria, he found Reid standing in a far corner with a small foam cup of coffee clutched in his long fingers. He approached the young agent briskly, "Reid?" he frowned.

Reid looked up, startled. "H-Hotch? What's wrong? Did -"

"That's what I want to talk about." Hotch interrupted him. "What's wrong with you? Reid, you've been… different lately. You and Morgan both have."

Reid swallowed and looked down into his coffee cup. "And?" he asked slowly.

"And I'm worried about you." Hotch said slowly.

Reid's head snapped up quickly. He knew that tone of voice. He knew that look in Hotch's eyes. And he couldn't help that little flare of anger and resentment that swooped into him unexpectedly. "There's nothing to worry about." He almost snapped.

Hotch sighed, "Then explain to me what's going on, Reid. And don't say nothing," He quickly cut Reid off before he could speak. "I know something's going on."

Reid stared at his boss, "What happened to not profiling each other?" he demanded.

"Reid, I'm worried about you. I want to know that you aren't…" he trailed off, not sure how to say it without actually saying it.

"Aren't what?" Reid asked. Hotch was surprised at the anger in Reid's eyes. More surprised because Reid wasn't normally the kind of person to get angry, though it was understandable. "Aren't using again?" The edge in his voice was unmistakable. This was the second time in a week that he'd been accused of using drugs again and he was starting to get really pissed off. "Hotch, I'm not that stupid."

"Reid -"

"No, let me finish." Reid interrupted. "I understand why you think that. I understand why you worry… Once and addict always an addict, right? But I'm clean. And I'm not going to make that mistake again, Hotch. I promise. And I'll do whatever it takes to prove that to you. I'll get tested once a month, you can go to the NA meetings if you want. Just, please don't start getting suspicious behind my back like that."

Hotch pressed his lips together, "Reid, I don't need you to prove it. I trust you, I'm just worried. I don't think of you like that, and you know I don't." he paused. "And if that's not what's going on, then what is? Because there is something going on."

Reid hesitated. "I… Honestly, Hotch, I don't think it's any of your business."

"If it affects my agents, my team, then it is." Hotch said sternly.

Reid looked back down at the now lukewarm coffee. "I…" he hesitated again. "I want to tell you, but I don't want to tell you." he said. "And I'm not telling you now."

"Reid…"

"Hotch, it's not… it nothing bad, exactly. I'm not hurting myself or anyone else, I swear to you. But this is something that doesn't just involve me and it wouldn't be fair to tell you without taking to…"

"To Morgan," Hotch finished.

"I…" he sighed. "Yes, to Morgan." he nodded.

Hotch sighed, "I understand." he said slowly. "Just… Tell me what you can, when you can Reid. I do trust you, you know. And everyone on the team."

Reid nodded slowly, "I know."

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**E/N: Hmm… bit of an emotional rollercoaster, this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it! :)**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	14. Did I Miss Anything Important?

**A/N: Thanks so much, all of you, to every reviewer and reader! I'm glad you guys still like this story! Because this didn't go EXACTLY how I planned it, I've had to make some changes to my plans for the next few stories, but don't worry, as long as you guys want me to, I'll continue to write more for this series. XD**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild/moderate violence… do you think it's too late to warn you guys that a minor character dies?**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Ch. 14: Did I Miss Anything Important?

It was several hours later, nearly the end of visiting hours, when the doctors would allow the entire team into Morgan's room at once. By that time, each member of the team had seen Morgan at least one time and they all gathered around his bed with get well cards and gifts that they'd bought for him in the hospital gift shop. They talked and tried to relieve the tension for an hour or two, but JJ soon had to get home to Henry and Will. Rossi considered cancelling a date to stay longer but Morgan told him not to – "You never know when you'll find wife number four, Rossi." – and Prentiss had apparently had a long night previously. When she started to nod off, despite the somewhat early evening hour, Hotch and Morgan both insisted that she leave.

Garcia wouldn't hear of leaving her Chocolate God no matter what happened and Hotch was wearily glancing at his lock, knowing that Jessica was with Jack at the moment. She understood that someone had been hurt, but he hated not being able to be with his son. He was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to be able to talk to Morgan and Reid alone. But it seemed that Garcia was unwilling to leave Morgan's side. So Hotch just stood in the room, sometimes taking part in the conversation, but mostly just watching.

The more he observed, the more he began to see where Rossi was coming from when he'd said that Reid and Morgan could be dating. The two men had always been close, but this wasn't quite the same thing. They seemed oddly concerned for the other. Yes, Reid had been beaten badly by William, and Morgan had been shot, but even for the naturally over-protective Morgan he was going farther than he normally did. And they way they were looking at each other. Especially when they didn't think anyone else was looking.

They were brief, quick glances on their part, but it was enough to convince the older agent that Rossi's theory had some merit. Still, it was hard to believe that Morgan, the epitome of a Lady's man, and Reid, a social awkward, brilliantly intelligent young man with almost zero romantic experience, could really have a relationship together. They seemed to be the most unlikely of couples to Hotch. They'd been best friends for so long that he just come to expect the closeness between the two; the change could've been due to almost anything and Hotch really did try to adhere to the non-profiling rule as often as possible.

Finally, after what felt like forever to Hotch, Garcia excused herself to go to the bathroom and Hotch moved closer to the bed. Reid was sitting in the chair closest to Morgan, leaning forward with his elbows placed on his knees. The dark, hollow look in his eyes had softened somewhat since the news of his father's death had sunk in and he'd already decided that it wasn't worth falling apart over. It wasn't as if he and William were close, it was more that one of the only two biological connections Reid had in the world had just been killed.

Hotch leaned against the wall, frowning at the two agents. Two men who'd become friends to him over the years. He noticed Reid watching him, seeming to be slightly on edge, frowning toward Morgan. "Are you going to wait to talk to him until later?" Hotch asked, studying their faces. Reid sighed and turned to face Morgan fully, who looked confused.

The younger man nodded slowly, "I… I don't know that we'll tell you, Hotch." He said after a moment. "But… Give us a second." Hotch nodded but didn't move from where he was by the wall. Reid sighed, "Derek…" he said slowly. He noticed the way Hotch cocked an eyebrow when he called Morgan 'Derek'. "You remember what we were talking about earlier? About telling the rest of the team…?"

Morgan nodded, "Hotch's been breaking the rule again?" he asked, glancing toward his boss with a dry smile. Hotch kept his mouth pressed in a tight line. He wasn't even going to attempt to guess what was going on just yet. At this point, he felt it could honestly be anything.

Reid nodded, "Yeah…" He licked his lips. "He thinks I'm using again."

"What!" for a moment Morgan looked insulted and Reid frowned at him.

"You thought the same thing just a few days ago!" he pointed out. Morgan sighed, deflated for a moment.

"…"

"Anyway," Reid sighed, taking a deep breath. "Rossi is starting to put things together too and … Maybe we should tell everyone… I didn't want to say anything without talking to you first though."

Morgan thought about it, "I don't know…. I guess we could tell Hotch, but what about Rossi and JJ? Your dad just died… and everything that's happened lately... Well, don't you think it's a lot to take in all at once."

"Maybe." Reid said. "So you think we should wait a little while?" he asked.

Morgan nodded. "We can tell them when we both go back to work… That'll give this some time to blow over."

Reid thought about it, glancing back at Hotch, who was still watching them curiously. "Alright." He agreed, a little bit reluctantly. He wanted to tell Rossi, Hotch and JJ, but he wasn't quite sure how they'd react. He knew they would never judge them for their relationship. They'd be just as accepting as Prentiss and Garcia had been, but it was the idea of having it all out in the open. "…Do you want to tell Hotch now or should we wait until then?"

Morgan glanced over at Hotch too, smiling slightly. "Why not? We're talking about him like he's not here aren't we?" he laughed lightly. Reid sighed and scooted his chair closer to Morgan's bed. Hotch frowned, that last puzzle piece sort of falling into place before the two men intertwined their fingers and Moran looked back at him with that knowing look on his face.

Hotch stared at them for a long, prolonged moment. Then he surprised them. He laughed. He closed his eyes, shook his head and laughed. They glanced at each other, wondering if something was wrong was with their boss. It took Hotch a moment to recover from his strange fit of laughter and then he sat down in the chair opposite of Morgan's hospital bed, shaking his head with a half-smile on his face.

"Rossi was right.." he said finally, shaking his head again.

"Rossi?" Reid frowned, his brows scrunching.

"We were talking and his theory was that you two were together. But he said it was unlikely."

Morgan and Reid both looked surprised. They'd known it would be difficult to hide a relationship from a group of profilers, but for Rossi to have hit the nail on the head, and when they thought they were doing such a good job of hiding things, was unexpected. "Well, I guess he'll be surprised when we tell him and JJ then…" Morgan said finally.

"So, Prentiss and Garcia already know then?" Hotch asked.

"They discovered on their own," Reid nodded. "We didn't exactly tell them…"

Hotch nodded, sobering slowly. He looked deep in thought, "You both know that this is technically against the FBI policy, right? Agent Fraternization isn't allowed."

"We know…" they said slowly.

"And I'll eventually have to report you… I can give you some leeway for a little while, but if Strauss finds out and she thinks that I knew and didn't report it…" he frowned. "She won't be pleasant to deal with."

"Don't worry, Hotch, we're going to report it, just… not right away." Morgan assured him. "And… thanks."

Hotch smiled again, shaking his head. "Just… As long as you two can remain profession at work, I don't have a problem with it. Do not let this interfere with your jobs." He said, sounding stern all of a sudden. "I mean that Morgan; we both know Reid is entirely capable of talking down and unsub, of shooting a gun and working in the field. You can't get distracted every time he might be in trouble."

Reid frowned, "I'm not in trouble that much!" Reid protested.

Hotch shook his head, "Reid, when I arrived at the hospital and one of the nurses asked me for the name of the agent admitted, I almost told them your name because it's the name I usually have to tell the doctors."

Reid made a face, practically pouting. Morgan chuckle, pulling Reid carefully closer to him and kissing him gently. "Come on, Pretty Boy, don't pout." He teased.

Hotch stared at them, a strange look on his face again. "And if I see _that _at the office you're both fired."

Morgan went to argue but was interrupted by Garcia's usual loud, deliberate entrance. "I'm back my sweets!" she chimed, smiling brightly. She frowned when she caught sight of her friends' faces and she looked curiously from one to the next. "Did I miss anything important?" she demanded.

* * *

**E/N: Hmm… so now Hotch knows and they've got a plan for when to tell the rest of the team, meaning, Rossi and JJ. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned always but you're gonna have to wait for the next few stories to understand that. For now let's stay with this one… it's not quite over yet, after all. XD**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	15. That's What You Have Me For

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your awesome reviews! You guys rock, seriously! XD I love y'all!**

**THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER GUYS!… then I'm going to start working on a oneshot sequel ("Claustrophobic") then it might be a little while before the next multi-chapter fic ("Wedding Bells") but it'll happen XD**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild/moderate violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Ch. 15: That's What You Have Me For

Morgan was only in the hospital for two and a half days before he demanded to be released. The doctors finally allowed him to go, twenty-four hours before they wanted him to leave, when Hotch and Reid both assured them that Morgan was not going back to work any time soon and told them that Reid would be staying with Morgan while he was out of work.

Hotch had ordered Reid to not come back to work until Morgan was cleared to come back because he felt that Reid wasn't quite up to working just yet and, as he put it, he needed a vacation anyway. Reid had grumbled something about having to take care of Morgan not being a real vacation, but it was pretty obvious to the older man that Reid really was glad to be the one taking care of someone for a change.

The first night in Morgan's apartment had been pretty rough. He'd tossed and turned the entire night, tearing his bandages off twice. He hated having to wear the sling around his arm and never seemed to be really comfortable. Finally, Reid had gotten an extra blanket and slept on the couch. The next morning, when Morgan found him there, he demanded to know why he hadn't at least gone to the guest bedroom in the back.

"I wanted to be able to hear you in case you needed anything," Reid told him, rubbing his tired eyes. He started folding the blanket and Morgan plopped down next to him, fidgeting with the sling.

"Stop doing that." Reid warned, putting the now neatly folded blanket on the arm of the sofa. "You're only going to end up pulling off your bandage again."

Morgan made a face, "Then maybe I should just take it off. It's only getting in the way…"

"Derek, it's keeping your shoulder in place so that it can heal like it's supposed to. Or do you want to not be able to use your arm the way you used to?"

Morgan sighed, "C'mon, Spencer, you know how aggravating these things are." he muttered.

"So? I also know how helpful they are. Now stop twisting it." Reid ordered, shaking his head. He stood from the couch and headed into the kitchen, "What do you want to eat?" he called over his shoulder.

"Nothing," Morgan muttered.

Reid poked his head out of the kitchen door, frowning at him. "Derek, you wouldn't let me eat nothing for breakfast. Now tell me what you want or I'll just fix something and you'll have to eat it."

Morgan sighed, "Fine. Eggs and toast, Mr. Bossy."

Reid rolled his eyes, "That wasn't so hard, was it?" It didn't take long to fry the eggs and get the toast ready. When he went back into the living room Morgan was still sitting on the couch looking uncomfortable.

"Derek, seriously, it's not that bad. You're on medical leave… it's like a vacation…"

Morgan smiled, taking the pulling the coffee table closer and leaning forward to eat his breakfast. "And I have you here," he added, smiling at the way Reid's eyes lit up when he said it.

"There's that too…" Reid nodded, a smile twitching his lips. Morgan laughed and took a bite of the eggs. "Wow… they're actually good."

Reid made a face at him then, "What? You didn't expect them to be?" he demanded.

"In the years that I've known you, even in these last few months, I've only ever seen you cook with a microwave."

"So? I used to cook at home when my mom was having some of her more severe episodes…" the younger man explained.

"Oh…" Morgan nodded slowly, eating in silence for the next few moments.

"I'm going to go talk to the funeral director this afternoon," Reid said slowly. "Dad wanted to be buried in Las Vegas and the coroner released his body last night."

"What was the verdict?" Morgan muttered, sounding more bitter than Reid could remember him ever sounding.

"Self-Defense Homicide." Reid said. "You aren't going to be charged with anything." he paused, frowning. "I'm talking to Dad's lawyers tomorrow; they're flying in from Vegas. The funeral is going to be in Vegas the day after tomorrow…" he sighed. "I'm going to give control of the funeral over to one of his partners once his body is shipped."

Morgan thought about it for a long moment, "You don't want to go to the funeral?"

"No." Reid frowned. "I just want it over and done with. I talked to Mom and her doctors last night while you were asleep. She took the news… well. She wants to go to the funeral. I didn't tell her exactly how he died. She doesn't need to know;" he said quickly when Morgan gave him a confused look. "The memories she does have of Dad are bad enough."

"Where are you meeting his lawyers at?" Morgan asked, twisting his fork in the eggs absently for a moment.

"Here. They should arrive around eleven thirty. They just need to go over the Will and they'll be gone. It shouldn't be too hard. I don't even know why they're coming to talk to me."

"You're his only living blood relative," Morgan pointed out. "And he might have left you something."

Reid frowned. "I don't want anything he could've left me." he muttered. "I just want this to all be over."

"I know, Spencer. I do to." Morgan nodded, scooting closer to Reid and putting his good arm around him. "And it will be, don't worry."

**~/.\~**

Reid slept in the bed with Morgan that night after nearly having to force him to take the medication the doctor had given him so that he wouldn't be tossing around all night, pulling at his bandages. The next morning they both woke up better rested and not as stiff. Reid had to fix breakfast again because Morgan wasn't able to do much cooking with just one arm.

Reid did enjoy have to help Morgan get dressed, however… Morgan seemed to enjoy it more and somehow managed to annoy the younger man until he was almost ready to rip Morgan's bandages off himself. The lawyers arrived at eleven thirty on the dot and Reid and Morgan led them into the back office where Morgan managed his real estate properties.

The lawyers were two thin men from Las Vegas, one with thick grey hair, the other who was balding noticeably, but the little bit of hair he did have was a light brown. They introduced themselves as Mr. Foreman and Mr. Giles. "Mr. Reid," Mr. Giles - the balding man - nodded to him as they sat down across from them.

"It's Doctor Reid," Morgan corrected him, frowning at the men.

"Sorry, Dr. Reid…" Mr. Giles said apologetically. He cleared his throat, glancing to Morgan.

"Who are you, exactly?" Mr. Foreman asked, narrowing his eyes at Morgan.

"Derek Morgan. I'm one of Spencer's co-workers."

"Co-Workers?" the man frowned, "So why exactly is he staying here?"

"My dad shot him." Reid said tersely. "I'm taking care of him while he's on medical leave."

Mr. Giles shot the other man a warning look. "Dr. Reid," he started again, slowly. "Your father named you Executor of his Will."

"He did?" Reid frowned, looking confused.

Mr. Giles nodded, clearing his throat. "Yes. He only really had two stipulations though. The house is to be put up for sale… And half of the profit goes to you, the other half to your mother's hospital to help pay for her bills there. And the same thing for the money he has saved in his banking account. Half to you, half to your mother. Everything in his house now belongs to you, of course."

"…he didn't leave anything to anyone else?" Reid looked shocked, glancing at Morgan.

"No. It's all left to you and your mother."

Reid licked his lips, "How much are you talking about?"

"He had about 30,000 dollars in his savings account," Mr. Foreman said. "And his house is probably worth around 80,000 dollars on the market. Of course, it could sell for considerably less, but that's still…"

"Still enough money to cover my mother's stay at Bennington's for the rest of her life." Reid said, nodding. He was more confused than he'd probably ever been. He was sure that if his father had made it back home before he'd tried to kill Morgan the first thing he would've done would've been to change that. Still… he could keep enough to cover both him and Morgan for retirement and donate the rest of the money to the hospital. What didn't cover his mother's bills could be used for other things…

Morgan gripped his hand tightly under the desk where the lawyers couldn't see and glanced at him. He could practically see the wheels turning in his lover's mind. "Ok…" Reid said slowly. "Um… is there anything else?" he asked. His voice was barely discernable. He was in shock; that was the only way Morgan could really describe that look on his face.

"No, everything was to be split between you and your mother's hospital…"

They quickly discussed the details over everything and the lawyers left, thankfully. Reid and Morgan sat down at the dining room table once they were gone and Reid tapped his fingers against the table. "Spencer…" Morgan frowned, gently touching his arm.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Reid said slowly. "I'm just… in shock, I think. I never expected him to leave anything to me. Maybe Mom, but…"

"He probably didn't have anyone else." Morgan said, pulling his chair closer to Reid.

Reid glanced up at him, feeling oddly happy that his father's life had been so apparently lonely. It gave him an odd sense of gratitude to know that William hadn't had anyone else in his life… that actually explained why he had suddenly decided to try and make amends with him. He's probably been lonely.

Reid wondered if any of his father's co-workers would go to the funeral… it probably depended on whether or not news of how he'd died came out. Even then, some of them might go. And his mother was going, he knew for sure. He sighed, "I guess I just never thought about him much after I left Vegas. He was like a bad memory and I just figured that I was the same way to him…"

"Well, apparently not." Morgan said. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I'll probably give most of the money to Bennington's." he said. "And put the rest into my savings account. I don't really need the money…"

Morgan smiled for a second, his eyes lighting. "Maybe not… but we could take a long vacation with that kind of money."

Reid laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think I'd know what to do on an actual vacation…"

"That's what you have me for," Morgan grinned.

END

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**E/N: Hmm… Not sure how I feel about this chapter. Especially since it was THE LAST CHAPTER! OMG… **

**I wasn't sure if it was going to be the end or not, but it is. Don't worry, I'm already working on "Claustrophobic" and then "Wedding Bells"… Hope y'all enjoyed!**

**Thanks for sticking w/me guys! XD**


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